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At the 2026 All England, we were lucky
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to witness one of the most thrilling
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men's singles badminton matches in a
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while, where Canada's Victor Lai played
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a 97-minute match against India's
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This match had some of the craziest long
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rallies and even included Lakshya Sen
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playing through cramps to ultimately win
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We wanted to make this video almost like
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a part two to one of the videos we made
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a few days ago about how many pros
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struggle against the way that Victor Lai
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We didn't talk much about Victor Lai's
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weaknesses in that video after all
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and thought this would be a good
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opportunity for discussion with how
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Lakshya Sen's specific strategies
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exposed Victor Lai's weaknesses.
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Let's begin with Victor Lai's
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We established in our previous video
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that Victor Lai is a player who is
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exceptional at taking the pace out of
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his opponent's attack and using their
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speed against them to score his own
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For him to do this, Victor has developed
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exceptional lift and net skills and
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fluid movement mechanics that allow him
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to move extremely well.
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Admittedly, we did make it sound like
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Victor Lai has zero weaknesses
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But that is not true.
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Even before losing to Lakshya Sen,
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Victor Lai has dropped matches, games,
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and rallies that show some of the
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weaknesses in Victor's game that other
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In this video, we're going to cover two
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Victor does not have a particularly
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strong ability to pressure his
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opponent's back court.
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He has great lift quality,
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and even lots of deceptions.
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But, the actual shot speed of his
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flatter attacking pushes,
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and willingness to play that faster
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is not on the same level as some of the
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Rarely ever do you see Victor play shots
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with the intention to get loose late
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back court returns that he can kill.
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Victor's own late back court skills are
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also one of the weaker elements of his
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game compared to the rest of his skills.
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His shots can often be seen to be high
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and slow enough that his opponents can
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come in and attack or use deceptions.
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With these weaknesses in mind,
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this is why Victor Rye might play in a
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way that other pros struggle against,
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but it certainly does not make him
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In certain venues, for example,
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his weaknesses can get amplified, and
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his strengths can get neutered.
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In faster, more drifty conditions, we
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have already seen how that could
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completely mess up Victor's game
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by making it extremely difficult to
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control his high lifts, and to defend
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against the fast smashes.
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And even in slow playing conditions like
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the All England, there are still ways to
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At the 2026 All England, Lakshya Sen
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demonstrated one strategy pros can use
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Be patient and use variation in the back
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Focus on attacking the front.
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>> One of the mistakes pros make when
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playing Victor is trying to win by
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attacking Victor's lifts.
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Victor's lifts have very good height and
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depth to them. So, even though you might
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feel like you got a great attacking
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Victor is just going to run you to the
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ground as you repeatedly smash
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Lakshya Sen understood this. And so, his
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back court was noticeably not about
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hitting the hardest, fastest smash that
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Instead, the goal was to use variation
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and focus on the angle.
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Most of his shots were quick drops,
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slices, and half smashes that didn't
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require full body commitment and were
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If there was no opportunity,
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opting for a high clear was fine, too.
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The goal, ultimately, was to win through
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Victor has the high lift that's hard to
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but it also doesn't put pressure on his
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A combination of Victor's previous
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opponents wanting to attack in the back
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court and not recognizing that Victor's
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attacking pushes were not particularly
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dangerous made them position way too far
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back in anticipation of the back court.
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This opened up opportunities for Victor
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to use deceptions at the net to break
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his opponent's rhythm
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Lakshya Sen, however, strategized
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His full focus was on the front court
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instead because he didn't care so much
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about producing the greatest attack in
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So, even when Victor plays a deception,
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Sen might stutter a little,
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but he's still already in position.
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And when all of his efforts are on the
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the follow-up to each shot
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is much sharper compared to some other
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and allows Sen to put infinitely more
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This quicker follow-up and attack at the
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front also helps neutralize some of
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Viktor's strengths in his readiness and
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speed at attacking flat pushes.
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It's still hard for Sen to win
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immediately on the front court
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with how good Viktor is at neutralizing
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and cutting off shots.
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But repeatedly executing this strategy
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does put a toll on Viktor.
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Viktor's late back court shots, after
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all, are not his greatest strength.
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If he doesn't immediately attack the
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Viktor will often end up playing looser
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drops or clears that put him on defense.
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And because Sen is willing to be patient
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and not fully commit to any shot in the
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back court, many of these rallies get
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extended and force Viktor to be the one
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scrambling around on the court.
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Viktor is at the point where he can no
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longer attack many of these flatter,
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And it's a big part due to Sen's
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willingness to be patient.
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At this point, Sen has neutralized much
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of Viktor's strengths
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and the game has become extremely
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difficult for Viktor to win,
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even if Sen is cramping.
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If Viktor is unable to attack the flat
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he's forced to constantly play his lower
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quality late shots that puts him on
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And the game becomes one where he's just
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Now, unfortunately for Sen,
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he would be unable to do the same
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against Lin Chun-Yi in the finals.
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Three-set matches against Shi Yuqi,
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Ang Ka Long Angus, Victor Lai,
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and not to mention an additional match
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against Li Shifeng definitely took a
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But kudos to Sen for winning against
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Victor and playing through a cramp in
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