Lakshya Sen reacts to the defeat: 

About the match: The strategy was in place, I had played him last week.. but today he was looking very solid in defence as well as attack. He was really patient in building up the rallies. He played a really good game. In the beginning, errors costed me the first game. I was there in the second game too but he was too solid for me to put the shuttle down. Yeah was really hard to win today. 

On whether nerves played a part: I feel I played well too. Just as I said he was really solid on defence. There was a lot of pressure before the match but when I entered the court, it was another match for me. I played a really good match yesterday, that gave me a lot of confidence. Credit to him, he played a really perfect game today. 

On what this achievement means and how he feels about his game: I feel since the pandemic, I have played really good badminton. I have been continuously playing at the top level and this is what I have to keep doing. I think now I know what it’s like to be playing in the big stages... the tournaments keep coming and you have to be prepared physically and mentally for every match which is going to be tough. This gives me a lot of confidence. 

On plans: Korea Open coming up, before that Swiss Open... and then there is a little break. 

When the dust settles, the obvious next stage in Lakshya’s evolution is to add options to his game to close out points but we once again saw just how good he can be on defence.

All the results: Not a single final went into the decider today but we did see some very high quality badminton being played.

Axelsen the champion but Lakshya still has time on his side. Screenshot.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 20-15: Viktor is the victor! Lakshya tried but this was Axelsen playing a very sharp and patient brand of badminton. He thoroughly deserved this win... a magnificent triumph. He didn’t drop a game all tournament. Olympic champion. All England champion. World No 1.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 20-12: Eight championship points!!!

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 19-12: Seven point gap. Lakshya still giving it his all though.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 18-12: Oh maaaan! Fabulous defensive play by Sen. Axelsen just couldn’t finish off the point and Lakshya kept finding a way to get the shuttle back. Superb!

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 18-11: Axelsen just three points away.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 17-11: Lakshya outlasts Axelsen to win a 70-shot rally. He just wanted to keep the shuttle in play and Axelsen wasn’t prepared to take a rish either. In the end, the Dane misjudged and the shuttle fell in.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 17-10: Axelsen moving closer and closer to winning this.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 16-10: Big gap. Axelsen staying focussed and playing at a very high level.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 14-9: Still a five-point advantage for Axelsen. Big smash down the line and Sen couldn’t keep the return in.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 12-9: Axelsen sends another wide. He does tend to get nervous and we saw that at the German Open too last week.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 11-8: Three points in a row for Lakshya. Just what he needed to start feeling a little better about this match.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 11-5: Six-point advantage for Axelsen at the interval. Lakshya is not quite sure what is working for him here and that is the problem. In which direction should he go? What should he attack? How should he attack?

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 10-5: Mad defence from Lakshya but not enough. He got back two smashes but the third was a bit too much to handle. What can the young Indian do?

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 8-5: An error from Axelsen at the net. Sends the shuttle into the net. Lakshya needs a few more easy points to just get some momentum.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 7-4: Axelsen uses all his height to smash that down. Impossible to return and Sen can’t either.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 6-4: Axelsen pulling away again. Two quick points and the crowd that is chanting his name.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 4-4: Lakshya with a wonderful half-smash. Axelsen gets the challenge wrong and we are all even.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 4-2: A flatter exchange and Axelsen sends a return long. Is this the strategy that Lakshya must pursue?

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: 22 minutes for a 21-10 scoreline should tell you a fair bit about that opening game. Lakshya Sen definitely making Viktor bhai work hard, plenty of gruelling rallies, but the Dane just able to find better kill shots.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 3-0: Axelsen has jumped to an early lead and that will only make Lakshya more desperate. Not good.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10, 2-0: Long rally and it is Sen who loses patience first. Sends the shuttle wide.

Change of ends. Will that get Lakshya back into this? Second game begins.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 21-10: All Axelsen in the early going but Lakshya did have some moments and the conversation in his corner will be about those moments. When the rallies are longer, Lakshya has a pretty good chance of winning them but his net play needs to become a factor here.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 19-7: Smooth sailing for Axelsen. What an opening game!

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 17-7: Lakshya hasn’t quite been able to catch Axelsen off guard. Can he make this a battle at the net?

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 16-6: A ten-point lead and it might perhaps be safe to say that this game is done. Lakshya won’t give up but he will already be thinking about the second game.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 14-6: Nice crosscourt smash and the return goes wide.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 13-4: Sen sends it long. The Dane has a pretty handle lead and if nothing else, this should allow the Indian to shake off the nerves.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 12-3: Incredible defence from Lakshya and then Axelsen finally sends the shuttle wide. This is what the Indian needs to do a lot more of... just stay in the point.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 11-2: Lakshya doesn’t quite know what has hit him at this point. Axelsen has hardly put a foot wrong so far. Nine-point lead at the interval.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 10-2: This has been rather superb from Axelsen. The kill at the net.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 9-2: Axelsen wins a long, long 61-shot rally. There was a point when the shuttle seemed to be going out but Lakshya played it and then the Dane came up with the big finish.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 8-2: Axelsen playing like a man on a mission. Anything short has been punished. A short lift and the steep smash does the trick.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 6-2: Lovely reverse drop and then a fine finish. Sen is finding his feet now. Nice long rally and he needs to do more of this.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 6-1: Finally a point for Lakshya. Down-the-line smash. Now the match can begin... really begin.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 6-0: Axelsen coming all out here. Another steep smash and this time Lakshya is unable to get it back.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 5-0: Challenge successful and another point for Axelsen. He is already going for the lines.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 4-0: Misjudgment from Lakshya. A deep lift by the Dane.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 3-0: Axelsen is off to a fine start while nerves might still be in play for Lakshya.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 1-0: What a point to start things off! We saw a bit of everything. Good reflexes, good defence and then the smash down the line to finish the point.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen - 0-0: Axelsen’s family is in the stands. The crowd is all charged up for this one. Here we go!

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen: Time for a short warm-up and then the action can begin. What a moment this is for Lakshya but he needs to put all that behind him and focus, as he has so far in the tournament, only on the next point.

Men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen vs Lakshya Sen: The players are walking onto the court. Butterflies anyone?

Men’s singles: Axelsen is in his fourth consecutive All England final and he will be out for revenge too. The unseeded Lakshya will be looking to become the first Indian to win the All England since Gopichand... 21 years ago!

Men’s singles: Axelsen leads the H2H 4-1 but Lakshya Sen won their last meeting and that should hold some weight today. In their last match, Axelsen looked to just power through the third game but he paid the ultimate price and lost the match. Sen’s defence will once again hold the key. He will look to frustrate the Dane.

And that also means it is almost time for Lakshya Sen vs Viktor Axelsen. They should be on court very soon indeed.

Mixed doubles: Watanabe/Higashino are the champions. Superb stuff. They were trailing again coming into the business end but held their nerve and finished off the match in straight games. What a final! Badminton of the highest quality.

Mixed doubles: Wang/Huang worked their way to an 8-4 lead before Watanabe/Higashino got properly stuck in to level it up at 8-8. High-quality stuff from both pairs.

Mixed doubles: Watanabe/Higashino wrap up the game in some style. They really upped their game in the second half but expect the Chinese pair to come back strongly in the second game. This is anything but over.

Mixed doubles: Third seeds Wang Yi Lyu/Huany Dong Ping with a two-point advantage at the interval. This was been a well-contested match so far – nice flourishes from both pairs and some pretty long rallies too.

Mixed doubles: Time for the mixed doubles final between the fourth seeds Yuta Watanabe/Chiharu Shida and third seeds Wang Yi Lyu/Huany Dong Ping. The Chinese pair leads the H2H 10-2.

Women’s doubles: Matsuyama/Shida cruise to the title in just 41 minutes. They were far too good for the Chinese pair today. Better at defence and better at attack too. The complete package.

Women’s doubles: Apart from a brief period when the Chinese pair put together a string of point, it all went the way of the seventh seeds.

Women’s doubles: But Matsuyama and Shida pull away again to make it a five-point game. They lead 18-13.

Women’s doubles: Zhang/Zheng fighting back to make it 12-14. This is superb. The nerves are suddenly out of the way.

Women’s doubles: Matsuyama and Shida are comfortably in control of this one. They lead 11-2 at the break.

Women’s doubles: The seventh seeds Matsuyama and Shida will next take on Zhang and Zheng from China. This is the first meeting between these pairs.

Men’s doubles: Fikri/Maulana have bossed it. The new era is upon us. All England title on their debut at the tournament. Emotional scenes. It means so much. They have beaten the Minions, they have beaten the Daddies, they also beat the World Championship bronze medallists in the second round and the reigning World Champs in the QFs. What a crazy run to the title!

Men’s doubles: Fikri/Maulana staying ahead and doing all the right things too. They lead 11-8 at the interval in the second game. Ahsan getting some treatment on his right leg too.

Men’s doubles: But it is Fikri/Maulana who turn things around with some decisive plays. It looked like the Daddies had done enough to take the game but try telling that to the youngsters.

Men’s doubles: 19-18. The Daddies sneak ahead at a vital point.

Men’s doubles: Fikri/Maulana take back the lead with two points on the trot. Before the Daddies get another point back at the end of a 26-shot rally. We are headed for a tight finish.

Men’s doubles: Ahsan/Setiawan draw level at 14-14. They are bringing all their experience into play here.

Men’s doubles: Fikri/Maulana continuing to impress against the Daddies too. Their court awareness has been spot on all week and their decision making has been second to none.

Women’s singles champion: Akane Yamaguchi

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 15-21 Akane Yamaguchi: World Champion Akane Yamaguchi is now also the All England champion! And what do you know, she actually seems to be celebrating this with a proper smile after a ‘are we done here?’ reaction to winning in Huelva.

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 15-20 Akane Yamaguchi: Match points, Akane!

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 14-18 Akane Yamaguchi: And Akane back in control here. Brilliant crosscourt winner.

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 14-16 Akane Yamaguchi: There is a fightback from An. Akane Yamaguchi already plays the defensive lunge at the net arguably better than anyone else on tour and now she has added another element to it with a touch so deft that it just drops on the other side of net. UNREAL HUMAN. But from 8-15 down, it is now 14-16 as the Korean fights back.

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 8-11 Akane Yamaguchi: The Korean is engaging in higher quality rallies now but the Japanese’s defence has been on point for the most part. It is frustrating the youngster and the world No 2 looks on track to wrap this up in 2 after all.

Women’s singles final, An Seyoung 15-21 8-9 Akane Yamaguchi: An Seyoung will have to come back from a game down against Akane Yamaguchi as the Japanese veteran (all of 24) starts well. If their past meetings are anything to go by, we can still expect this to go three.

Women’s singles final: An Seyoung started slowly, Akane Yamaguchi had more control in the opening exchanges but the youngster fought back. Should take some momentum into the 2nd game.

06.00 pm: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of All England Open Badminton Championships 2022. It’s finals day.

India’s Lakshya Sen will face Danish top seed Viktor Axelsen in the men’s All England Open final after beating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia on Saturday.

Sen battled to a thrilling 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 victory against defending champion Lee.

The 20-year-old rising star, a World Championships bronze medallist, is just the fourth Indian man to make the All England final.

That will be the final final of the finals day. For now, what a match-up to start off proceedings. *THE* women’s singles rivalry of 2021 is the first major final of 2022 too. After 6 meetings in 2021, Akane Yamaguchi vs An Seyoung meet for the first time in 2022.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy Tournament Software / Viacom 18