India, March 3 -- Lakshya Sen has his days: ordinary and incredible. On his ordinary game days, he can lose in the most unexpected fashion, leaving everyone to brood over his talent. Then there are days against fancied opponents, on bigger stages, when he demonstrates his class, shows what he can achieve at world level. On such days, Lakshya the competitor is simply at a different level. He dives, retrieves, smashes, deceives, controls the net, and puts the pressure back on his opponent with every shot. He is a bundle of energy on the court.

In the first round of the All England Open in Birmingham on Tuesday, Lakshya produced one such show for the ages, taking out world No.1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi 23-21, 19-21, 21-17, causing t...