In a savage twist of fate, the “Sensational” campaign of Lakshya came to an end in a matter of a few hours. The 11th ranked shuttler across the globe Lakshya Sen lost the All England Badminton Final to the current numero uno from Denmark Viktor Axelsen. This meant the wait for India’s new champion in the coveted Badminton tournament just got a bit longer. However, the defeat at the summit clash takes nothing away from the 20-year-old boy from Almora who defied several odds to chart out a remarkable journey so far this year. So, don’t write him off after the single setback at the final of the All England championship, as is the wont in the media these days.
The Dubai Invite
It was only late last year in August 2021 that the present poster boy of Indian badminton lost in the first round of selection trials. This left him hopeless and scarred as he felt the world beneath him has come crashing down all of a sudden. The blame for the predicament he was in back then falls squarely on him as he was going through a bad patch on top of an awful stomach ailment. However, an invitation from the Danish shutter Viktor Axelsen, who on March 20 ended his dream run at the All England Badminton Final, to train in Dubai changed his life for the better. He was among the 5 privileged players to receive such an offer from Axelsen, who had recently shifted his training camp from Denmark to Dubai.
“We told him to go to Dubai and Lakshya benefited from training there. He was inspired by how Axelsen organised everything on his own.” Lakshya’s coach Vimal Kumar told TOI how the Middle Eastern sojourn transformed the lad rapidly.
The Beginning Of Good Things
Lakshya Sen came back as a new person altogether after attending the camp in Dubai. The change was reflective in the splendid run he had in 2022 as he grabbed bronze at the Worlds, secured India Open Super 500 title before entering the final of the All England championship, which he lost eventually on March 20. Actually, the seed for Lakshya’s rise was sown long back in 2011 when Prakash Padukone decided to focus only on young and fresh talents in his academy. The decision was met with unfavourable responses from several quarters, including Vimal Kumar. But the veteran and the All England Badminton Champion of 1980 dug in his heels and conducted an Under-13 tournament, which unearthed the current toast of the nation Lakshya Sen.
He had been in terrific form this year and his list of achievements includes beating some of the best in the business. He got the better of 2022 All England Badminton champion Axelsen, Olympic Bronze Medal winner Anthony Ginting, 2021 All England winner Lee Jii Zia etc. The resume looks very impressive and the reason for the on-court exploits in 2022 can easily be attributed to his ice-cool temperament, mental power and immense skills.
What Future Holds For Lakshya?
But the All England Championship Final was not a perfect outing for this sensational shuttler from Uttarakhand. The challenge of Axelsen proved to be too daunting for him “to put the shuttle down” and Lakshya went down in straight sets (10-21, 15-21). The defeat will in no way take away the character and brilliance he has shown so far this year prior to the final. Now, it is time for this sensational boy to build on the momentum gained so far and bring home several prestigious trophies, probably next year. That should be the “Lakshya” (Aim) of this Uttarakhand-born sensation going forward.
