Although Lakshya Sen had won tournaments, won medals at World Championships and placed in the top 10 in the world rankings, it was the 2022 All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham that made him a household name in India.
Reaching the final of the acclaimed $1.25 million tournament a year ago propelled the 21-year-old into an elite club made up of Prakash Nath, his mentor Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand and Saina Nehwal.
But Sen’s career hasn’t really picked up speed since then. While 2022 got off to a flying start for him – winning the India Open, reaching the finals of the German Open and the All England Open – last year he failed to make it past the quarterfinals in all BWF World Tour events. Aside from success at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last August, the Almora-based shuttle has struggled to make a name for itself on the international scene.
But perhaps the air of Birmingham can bring a much-needed shift in his career path. The first-round competition at the Super 1000 tournament on Tuesday showed that this might be exactly what he needs.
Against world number five Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, an opponent Sen had yet to beat in the previous two games, the Indian produced his aggressive best to edge out the 2020 All England Open finalist.
The world No. 19 needed 49 minutes to beat Chou in fifth place 21:18, 21:19 to advance to the second round at the Arena Birmingham.
“It feels good to be back in Birmingham. I have great memories from last year. I love playing in this kind of arena. It’s one of the biggest tournaments and it’s always been my dream to come and play here. It was a great match today and I have to thank Chou Tien Chen for giving me a great match. It’s a tough opponent so I was ready to give it my all and I’m happy with my performance in those two sets,” Sen said after the game in the mixed zone.
Sen has fought against top opponents in the last year, sometimes it was his problematic shoulder that bothered him, sometimes his lack of composure hurt him. He also underwent minor surgery for a deviated nasal septum.
“The last few months have been really tough. Things were here and there, my immunity was not up to scratch, so after the operation I got sick very often. I’m just trying to get back to my full fitness. In the last few months I’ve been absolutely top fit and I’ve had a few good weeks of training here. I’m looking forward to playing now,” added Sen.
Sen has brought patience to his game over the past year and a half, mixing attack with improved return skills. On Tuesday, he used both skills intelligently to beat his experienced opponent – who claimed bronze at the World Championships last year.
As the competition began head-to-head, Sen withdrew, except that Sen regularly took the initiative. In a game of lightning quick reactions, Sen pulled out some stunning winners who caught Chou completely off guard despite fighting his way back late into the first game.
After some tackling that gave Chou points early in the second game, Sen seized the initiative to take the momentum out of Chinese Taipei’s shuttle. The smiles on the faces of coaches Anup Sridhar and U Vimal Kumar grew as their protégé edged closer to victory.
Both shuttles went into full attack mode towards the end, with Sen’s body smash advancing into the round of 16 where he will face Danish shuttle Anders Antonsen or Rasmus Gemke on Thursday.
“More than tactically, he’s an all-round strong player, so I tried to take the initiative and create openings all the time. If you lose three or four points, he’ll pounce on it and really take advantage of it. I had to be on the ball with every point, try to attack and get the points. You still have to play a very calm and disciplined game,” said Sen.
Prannoy also wins
Sen’s friend and roommate HS Prannoy also enjoyed a good game as he defeated Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei in 49 minutes 21-19, 22-20. Prannoy, the highest-ranked Indian shuttle ranked 9th in the world, ran away to end the first game, leading 12-4 at the start and then 19-13.
But Wang won six straight points to take the competition to 19 points before the Thomas Cup champion won the next two to stay ahead of the competition.
In contrast, the second game was a fairly close fight, with neither shuttle giving the other a lead of more than a point. It was also tied at 20 points but Prannoy picked up two crucial points to win the competition and enter Round 2.
This was Prannoy’s fifth win in eight meetings against Wang and will face Indonesian third-placed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting on Thursday, with the Indian holding a 2-1 record.
Meanwhile, former finalist Saina Nehwal withdrew from the world’s oldest badminton tournament, leaving PV Sindhu as the only Indian contender in women’s singles. The former world champion meets China’s Zhang Yi Man in Round 1 on Wednesday.
Thomas Cup winners Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala were lucky to be promoted from the men’s doubles reserve list after Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo withdrew from Indonesia.
There will be no Indian representation in mixed doubles after Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto also retired from mixed doubles.
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