SINGAPORE – Even with a bloodied pinky finger, India’s world No. 19 badminton player Lakshya Sen exemplified the tattoos on his left arm: “Believe” and “never give up”.

After losing the first game and scraping his finger, the 22-year-old bounced back to beat Singapore’s world No. 12 Loh Kean Yew 19-21, 21-15, 21-13 at the Adidas Arena on March 8 and progress to the US$850,000 (S$1.13m) French Open semi-final.