Lakshya Sen: The Indian shuttler reaches career-best sixth spot in BWF World Rankings

(November 12, 2022) When Lakshya Sen began training at the Prakash Padukone Academy at the age of 12, little did the Indian shuttler know that in the next nine years, he would reach a career-best sixth spot in the Badminton World Federation Rankings. The boy from Almora, who is in sensational form this season, has gained 76,424 points from 25 tournaments, thus catapulting him from the eighth position to the sixth.

Lakshya took to Twitter to share his gratitude, and tweeted, “Being ranked 6 in the world motivates me to work even harder during the season. It is with sincere gratitude that I thank everyone who believes in me and supports me.”

Being ranked 6 in the world motivates me to work even harder during the season. It is with sincere gratitude that I thank everyone who believes in me and supports me. 🙏🏻 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/LjVKo2YbAl

— Lakshya Sen (@lakshya_sen) November 8, 2022

The Indian star shuttler had a stellar 2022 where he was a member of the Thomas Cup winning team, reached the finals of 2022 All England Open, and also won the Commonwealth Games Men’s singles Gold in Birmingham in August. “This has been an amazing year for me. From the time I was a child, I dreamed of participating in the All-England championships. As a matter of fact, that was the only tournament I was aware of at the time. Being a part of the finals was one of the most incredible experiences,” he tweeted.

The sport in his blood

The 21-year-old Commonwealth Games champion has badminton in his blood. Raised in the cantonment town of Almora in Uttrakhand, Sen was always fascinated by the game as he remembers holding his grandfather’s hand at the mere age of five and following him to the only outdoor court in the town. His grandfather, Chandra Lal Sen, was known as the grand old man of badminton in Almora. It was during his first posting in Bahraich, near the Nepal border that he first saw the game of badminton, and instantly took a liking to it, so much that he even represented civil services tournament. He later brought the game to Almora, and his son (Sen’s father) DK Sen followed in his footsteps. So, when Lakshya was seven, he began training under his father, who is nothing short of a revolutionary in the field of coaching.

Sen’s coaching began with multi-feed shuttle drill, which essentially means that the coach stands in the center of the other court and keeps on hitting shuttles in different parts of the player’s court making him move from one corner to another. While most players begin multi-feed drills at a later stage, Lakshya was at it from the go. “He hardly had a childhood. From age five, it has been badminton all the time. From 4.30 in the morning, even when it is bitterly cold, he was out training with his father,” his mother told News 18.

While the initial training set the foundation for him, things started to shift for Sen in 2013 when his father took him to Prakash Padukone Academy to train under U Vimal Kumar and Prakash Padukone. This paved Lakshya’s way to the top of the junior circuit, helping him become World No 1 junior player in 2017. “My grandfather was a badminton player and my father is a coach. So, that’s how I got introduced to the sport and once I started doing well at junior tournaments, I decided to become a professional shuttler,” Lakshya told Firstpost.

Beginning of a stellar career

The transition from top junior player to an equally successful player in the senior circuit came with its trials and tribulations during his short stint at the academy run by Danish legend Morten Frost. However, the constant work on his strength and stamina proved to be beneficial for the shuttler. He bounced back in 2018 by winning a bronze at World Junior Championship, a gold at the Asian Juniors and a gold in a mixed team, and a silver in men’s singles at Youth Olympic Games. These years of practice on the court have made him patient as a player and have yielded him good results.

Taking home the Thomas Cup was an incredible accomplishment for India. Together, we delivered when it mattered most.

I won’t participate in the Australian open. So no more international tournament this year.
Will start with malasiya open next year in Jan. 💪 pic.twitter.com/sabdaKXsQ0

— Lakshya Sen (@lakshya_sen) November 8, 2022

“Compared to my junior days, I am a little more patient. Trying to rally more. I need to improve this more for sure, but there are a lot more things to learn, but from then to now, it is a difference in my game. That I make the effort to play better strokes from the back, not just go all out with smashes… trying to build up a point. In the senior circuit, everyone is fit and the shuttle keeps coming back. You have to play long rallies, long matches. Preparing for that, I have improved my fitness,” he told Scroll in an interview.

The very next year, Sen won his first BWF Tour title by winning the Dutch Open men’s singles title after beating Yusuke Onodera of Japan. The same year, he also won the 2019 Scottish Open in November. However, it was a two-week training with Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in August 2021 that turned out to be a gamechanger for Lakshya as he learnt varied training methods along with strengthening and conditioning. This stint with Axelsen eventually put Lakshya on course to his recent success, including the CWG 2022 win. Despite the big stage, Lakshya didn’t put pressure on himself “thinking about the medal” as he always had the belief that he can do well.

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆! 👊

Lakshya Sen of 🇮🇳 was at his dominant best against Olympic 🥉 medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of 🇮🇩 in the opening round of the Denmark Open.#Badminton | #DenmarkOpen2022 | @bwfmedia | @lakshya_sen | @BAI_Media pic.twitter.com/IhZcY5JiqP

— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) October 20, 2022

The sports star has bowed out of the Australian Open due to a throat infection, but he is set to cast his spell again with Malaysia Open in January 2023, and his fans cannot wait to see him on the court again.

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