Athletes are always said to live with a shadow version of themselves. During good times, it is trapped and enslaved, like a genie in a bottle. But in the not-so-good times, it rears its head and hovers over, like a haunting reminder of all the wrong choices made and the roads not taken.
Lakshya Sen has lived this life for the last two years. He was the toast of the nation in 2022, having won gold medals at the Thomas Cup, Commonwealth Games and India Open, and reached the final at the prestigious All England Open. However, 2023 was largely forgettable, with his only successes being the title at the Canada Open and the historic team silver at the Asian Games.
In October that year, he beat Shi Yu Qi, the current World No. 2, at the Asian Games, the kind of win that could have jump-started his return to form. Yet, he lost six straight first-round matches after that, stretching up to the 2024 India Open.
The race to Paris
The 22-year-old finally won a contest, at the Indonesia Masters in January, and has had an encouraging run at the French Open, including a triumph over the reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng. But with just under two months left for the Paris Olympics qualification window to shut (April 28), he is 17th in the ‘Race to Paris’ rankings. With H.S. Prannoy all but certain to qualify, Lakshya needs to be in the top 16 to take India’s second spot.
The coming week, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist returns to the All England in Birmingham, where in the spring of 2022, as a 20-year-old, he ensured that his name and talent were too important to ignore. He now has to rediscover that dazzling version of himself that has stayed buried beneath all the anxiety and fear, and prove both to the discerning audience and the critical press that he still has the fire.
“I think the pressure to qualify for the Olympic Games has been pretty high,” reckons U. Vimal Kumar, Dronacharya awardee and Lakshya’s long-time mentor and coach, in a conversation with The Hindu. “And then at some stage, he was getting desperate for points and wins. So, we had to explain to him that ‘yes, Olympic qualification is important, but the most important thing is to play to your potential’.
“I have given him the choice to take the initiative and set up routines and not coach too much. He is a player who knows a lot of things. So, I think there is no answer anybody can give him just like that. He has to find it.”
For Lakshya, the problems have been both physical and mental. After the World Championships in August 2022, he underwent a nose surgery to correct a deviated septum, but the recovery took an inordinately long time. His immunity reduced, leaving him susceptible to colds and fevers, which pegged him back repeatedly.
After he fully recovered, his game disintegrated. Quintessentially a hustler with a resolute defence and enormous amounts of patience, he was often guilty of being edgy and trying to hit through even in slow halls. The variations in pace that had served him well in the past were few and far between.
Combatting momentum-breakers
“Post surgery, for a few months it was difficult to adjust,” Lakshya tells The Hindu. “Because the moment I was training hard or travelling to a new place, I would fall sick. It took me some time to adapt. As the year went ahead, I had to play a lot of tournaments and to find a good training period in between was difficult. And I had a back problem too. So it is a mix of everything.”
Each of these is a momentum-breaker, and when they combine in the unforgiving world of elite badminton, they can leave players cruelly exposed. The singles draws, even at top tournaments, comprise just 32 players, and when unseeded — like Lakshya was when he reached the All England final in 2022 and is now — you can meet the world’s best from the get-go.
Back then in Birmingham, he had to overcome World No. 3 Anders Antonsen as early as the second round and World No. 7 and defending champion Lee Zii Jia in the last four to get to the final. In 2024, he is again drawn to meet Antonsen if he survives his opener.
Vimal, however, feels a surprise is still on the cards. “I don’t see any consistent performance from anybody,” quips the former National champion. “Many players win a tournament and then lose in the opening round of the next one.
“This year, maybe, the player who has shown more consistency is Antonsen in the top-30 bracket. If you look at the top-30 players in the world, Lakshya has beaten them all. There aren’t many players he has not beaten. So that advantage he has.”
But the hard-nosed tactician in Vimal knows that Lakshya needs to go beyond such feel-good numbers. “He’s trying to improve his net game and also develop more variations from the back of the court,” Vimal opines. “Sometimes they [opponents] pin him there and he keeps playing all downward shots. So he’s trying to bring in a little more variation.
“At the moment it [training] is tough, because he needs to play tournaments and earn points. But if he qualifies, there will be at least two to three months prior to the Olympic Games. That’s a good space to work.”
In a sense, Lakshya is a victim of his own success. Lost in the din is the fact that this is his first real experience of the rigours attached to an Olympic qualification cycle. The binary system of win or lose, pass or fail, can leave many a player with a crushed body and tired mind.
Easing the pressure
Vimal is conscious of that and has sought to lift the pressure by delving into sporting history and parables. “I have given him a few examples,” he says. “Lin Dan at the 2004 Olympics was very young and came in for his first Olympics. He was the top seed but lost in the first round. The pressure was such... but he came back and won the next two Olympic Games.
“At the same Olympics, I watched Roger Federer, the reigning Wimbledon champion and top seed, lose in the second round.
“So what’s the worst that can happen? He [Lakshya] may not qualify for the Olympic Games. But that’s not the end of his career. He came in with such good results in 2022, so everybody is comparing him to those results. It is not easy but these pressures are part of sport. And good people will find ways to deal with them.”
Lakshya appears primed for the challenge, sending out the vibes of a man of immeasurable ambition, something that is reflected in his love for the big occasion.
“I look forward more to events like All England or World Championships where I have done well before,” he says. “Yes, it is a new tournament and you have to be ready for new challenges and opponents. But that extra belief that comes with past performances is always there. So, I am really looking forward [to it].”
