A point that Lakshya Sen scored against Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals of BWF World Tour Finals last week has received several hits on the internet. At 4-14, in the second game, Sen lunged forward diving full length to retrieve from the forecourt. In a flash, he sprang up seeing Axelsen push the shuttle back, chased it and managed to hit it acrobatically for a winner.
In a way, that summed up how Sen is pushing boundaries on court this season. At 20, he seems in a hurry to catch up with his seasoned compatriots on the international circuit. He is not far off. Only recently, he cracked the top 20 in world rankings. Currently 19th, he is the third Indian after Kidambi Srikanth (14) and B Sai Praneeth (16) in the world rankings and the most improved Indian shuttler on the circuit.
While Srikanth, 28, is still in search of the form that shot him to world No.1 in 2018, for Sai Praneeth, 29, the 2019 world championships bronze medallist, performance has not matched potential. With age and talent on his side, Sen is the rising star of Indian badminton, one who is expected to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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Sen, a former junior word No.1, became the youngest Indian to qualify for the World Tour Finals. Starting Sunday, the youngster from the hill town of Almora in Uttarakhand will feature in his maiden world championships.
A good run
Sen made an impressive start to the year when he reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious All England Open. He then made the final of the Dutch Open, semi-finals in SaarlorLux Open and Denmark Masters, and quarter-finals in the French Open. Matches against some of the world’s top players such as Axelsen, Kento Momota, Loh Kean Yew and Kunlavut Vitidsarin have toughened him up.
“The more matches I get, the better I will become,” said Sen from Huelva, Spain.
“I have played a variety of players this season at the highest level and that has helped improve my game. I have been able to add to my attacking style of play,” said Sen, who is travelling with his father and coach DK Sen.
Sen is not a natural retriever. His game is built around fast, attacking strokes. But by testing himself against solid defensive players on slow courts, Sen is learning the art of keeping the shuttle in play.
“Playing against Axelsen and other players who are good when the shuttle is slow has made me patient and construct rallies well. I have played some long matches. I am just looking forward to a good outing at the world championships and not thinking too far ahead,” said Sen, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru.
Former international Vimal Kumar, who has coached Sen and guided many top stars including Saina Nehwal to world No.1, agreed that Sen has improved before saying: He can still bring in some variation from back of the court. He has a few deceptive drop shots and deceptive clears and from the net he can work on the tumble.”
Time for titles
Kumar said time has come for Sen to win titles. “He has done well this year. He has improved his world ranking. He has been playing non-stop since October and I wanted him to be in the top-20 by the end of the year. He is already there, so that is a big achievement,” said Kumar.
“Now, the priority is to not only make it to the big events but win. I told him that merely being in the top 20 of rankings doesn’t mean anything and when the opportunity comes, he should start winning Super 500, Super 300 tournaments.”
Sen’s rise is being acknowledged by the world of badminton too. In September, when Sen was down for not making the India team for the prestigious Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup, an unexpected call from world No.1 and Tokyo Olympics champion Axelsen pepped him up. Axelsen invited Sen to come to Dubai and train with him.
Those two weeks in Dubai, where Sen also trained with the fast-improving Loh Kean Yew from Singapore, now world No. 10, prepared him for the season. He lost in the final of Dutch Open to Loh, but beat him in French Open. Against Axelsen, he lost thrice this season but put up a gritty show in the BWF semi-finals, going down 15-21, 14-21. Against Momota at the Indonesia Open, Sen lost 21-23, 15-21.
“That was a good opportunity for him. He came back and practised and went to European tournaments. Beating Saurabh Verma comfortably in the Denmark Open, against whom he lost in two senior national finals, gave him a lot of confidence,” said Kumar.
What he does need to work on is take care of his body “as he is a little injury prone,” said Kumar.
Source/Credit By:- Hindustan Times.com
