Sen overcomes fatigue – All England champion Lin Chun-Yi said he was too tired to celebrate after beating Lakshya Sen in the final on Sunday. The Taiwanese had unveiled a nice little dance after beating World No.

1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semis. But if Sen’s exhaustion and leaden limbs cost him the title after 373 minutes over five matches, Chun-Yi – who also took out three seeded players – admitted he was too knackered to break into a jig.

“Because I was too tired after this (final) match, I didn’t plan to have a celebration. So there was no dance today,” he said. Sen’s draw didn’t make things easy for him.

He faced top seed Shi Yuqi in Round 1, a particularly aggravating match-up in Round 2 with NG Ka Long Angus, desperate Chinese power-player Li Shifeng in the quarters, and the tour’s most adamant defensive rallyist in Victor Lai at the last-four stage. “The only way out is to finish in two sets.

But will these opponents in early rounds allow him to?” coach Vimal Kumar asks. Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi, right, poses on the podium after winning the men’s singles final match with runner up India’s Lakshya Sen at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi, right, poses on the podium after winning the men’s singles final match with runner up India’s Lakshya Sen at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, Sunday, March 8, 2026.

(AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Nobody gets dragged into deciders by choice, but Sen’s playing style is such that he has to take the long-winding, gladiatorial route, as he makes the most of a modest frame that can’t unleash smashes casually. Every hit is an almighty effort. And while blisters are visible, the strain on the shoulder and back as he leaps and lands, dives and springs back, takes a toll deeper into the week.

Calls for Sen to be ‘consistent’ – play well at every tournament – are impractical and dangerous for a back that is patched up, and a shoulder that’s fragile. He will have those one or two great results each year, and no more.

Even there, by Day 5, he can be completely exhausted, given the intensity of his counter-punching style. Story continues below this ad Could he have trained more on his stamina? Vimal laughs uproariously. “He just couldn’t inject pace because his body couldn’t respond even if his mind was pushing.

He lacked the sting in the hit, the punch in the smash in the final. It’s humanly not possible to go more than this. You can’t say he needs to improve fitness.

He’s right up there,” the coach says. Prior to the tournament Sen’s lung-power numbers (VO2 Max, amongst others) were top of the charts.

Not only was he playing rallies at good pace till the final, his recovery after a tough retrieve was immense. Don’t over-train With Sen, pushing the limits further can bring injuries that could be tough to contain.

Overtraining is a serious risk with the shuttler who won’t shy away from the weights room. Story continues below this ad It’s why 2027 can’t come soon enough, when at least the Super 1000s allow a day’s rest between two matches and tournaments become two-week affairs. “Breaks are needed from the quarterfinal to final, rest is needed.

Otherwise, it’s too gruelling and the quality of badminton suffers,” Vimal explains. Chun-Yi wasn’t immune to exertions either.

He conceded Sen pushed him all the way in the second game, when he frittered away a match point. “I was very tired after I missed the match point,” he told BWF. “And on one point, his shot was going out, but I played it back.

I was very annoyed with myself because I could’ve finished the match there really. ” It meant a lot to both – especially to Chun-Yi, aiming to win Taiwan’s first men’s singles title in Birmingham.

Story continues below this ad “Just being able to play this tournament is a dream come true. During Covid, I saw teammates from my country play there and was very excited. And from watching it on TV to be able to be there physically and play it is very very unbelievable,” Chun-Yi told BWF.

Badminton doesn’t allow medical intervention apart from during breaks. “Play on or retire,” Sen was brusquely told in the semis. Though the Badminton World Federation is reluctant to cut down on events, it’s making games 15-point contests, something that might not entirely aid Sen, whose stamina helps him trump most players, even if he is spent by the time he reaches the finals.

Chun-Yi, arguably the best attacking player going around, described how tough an opponent Sen is, despite having won all five of their matches. “He is a very solid player. Especially during the second game, I was playing against the drift and trying to speed up, which is very hard.

I was trying to catch up most of the time. I’m happy to be able to grab the game in the end,” he would concede.

Story continues below this ad Despite Sen trying to keep exhaustion away, having trained hard for it, it ended up having the biggest impact in the final. Chun-Yi fared marginally better, and has an All England title to show for it.