It was not a perfect start of the season for Lakshya Sen. The Almora-born shuttle badminton star had suffered seven Round 1 exits between September 2023 and January 2024. He split with coach Anup Sridhar and slipping in the rankings further diminished his chances of making the Olympic debut.
But the 22-year-old pulled a phoenix, rising from the ashes to reach the semi-finals of both the French Open and All England Open in March to seal his berth at Paris 2024. Condemned for being overly defensive in the closing stages and making games unnecessarily complicated. Sen agreed that he needed to be more aggressive at the Paris Olympics when it comes to closing games. He lived up to his word to beat Gautemala's Kevin Cordon (21-8, 22-20) and Belgium's Julien Carraggi (21-19, 21-14) handsomely in Group L of Paris Olympics badminton.
Ahead of leaving for Marseille in France for his final phase of preparations ahead of his first Summer Olympics, 22-year-old Lakshya Sen spoke to THE WEEK in an exclusive interaction. Sen said in June that he was going to take one match at a time instead of thinking too far ahead. He said he was proud of the Indian badminton unit heading to Paris and hoped everyone would deliver their best performance. Excerpts
Q: About choosing Marseille in France as his base for final preparation ahead of the Olympics...
Lakshya Sen: I'll travel to Marseille two weeks before the Olympics. I'll be there for about 12, 13 days before moving into the Games village. At Marseille, I'll be training with my old team.
Q: So any particular areas that you'll be covering in Marseille?
I think keeping the conditions in mind and getting accustomed to the time zones are priorities. From Marseille, it takes only three hours to reach Paris and the climate and everything is similar...
I will practice at hours at which I can expect my matches to be around -- like afternoons or late in the evenings. That is the main purpose of going there -- to get adjusted to the conditions and have a good sleep cycle. It is a good two weeks for me to keep working on my fitness levels.
When it comes to events like the Asian Games or Olympics, badminton stars are sure bets at glory. It's not about giving a good performance anymore. Indian fans now expect the badminton unit to deliver a medal or two. For you, is this motivation or an added layer of pressure?
We really have a strong team this time and we have a great chance of winning a medal (in the Olympics. There is some added pleasure but again, I think I take it in a very positive way. And I try to get my best out of it.
I have a good team around me, good mental trainers who I have worked work with. It is my first Olympics and a lot of things are new for me. It is the biggest event I'll be playing so there will be some added pressure. But I think you just have to take it in a very positive way.
How do you think the Indian shuttlers are gonna perform in Paris. How proud are you to be part of this Indian team?
It's a really strong team and everyone has a chance to perform well and have a great Olympics. I am really proud of everyone.
From the Youth Olympics to your debut Summer Olympics, you've come a long way. Do you want to draw any parallels between the two? What lessons from the Youth Games are you going to take to Paris?
The atmosphere will be a bit similar in terms of being a part of the Village, meeting a lot of other sports personalities and being with them. I did well at the Youth Olympics, so that will give me a lot of confidence.
Can you walk us through your social media activities, especially how you deal with criticism and trolls?
I have a great team to help me with social media. I try to keep it very natural. I am not very active on social media ahead of tournaments. But once the matches are over, I'd like to interact with the fans, and maybe put something out for them.
When we do well in a tournament there will be good comments and negative comments will pop up whenever we don't do well. I enjoy both of them. I think it doesn't affect my performance or mood a lot in any way.
Let us talk about Paddy Upton's contributions...
I started working with Paddy Upton this January and it has been a great partnership. He has helped me a lot at the phase when I was not doing well. There was added pressure when I was struggling and wanted to make the Olympic qualification. He helped me a lot at that stage and the work is still going on.
Technology and data is important for a modern badminton player. Do you agree?
Nowadays, we receive a lot of data including on your sleep, nutrition, fitness etc. With its help, you can minimise injury concerns and try to take precautionary measures. During tournaments, when you want to analyse your opponents, there are a lot of videos available. Statistics help you to read your opponent's game. It helps you to spot the areas you want to work more. I take a lot of input from it.
For the Olympics, have you set a bottom line for yourself? Is it safe to assume that you are going in with a podium-or-nothing attitude?
As of now, I am just focused on the preparation. How well I can train each day is the priority and at the Games, I'm gonna take one match at a time and not think too far ahead. I am not going to think about anything other than winning (the match in hand).
Following your Indonesia Open game against Anders Antonsen, there were comments that you lacked an intent to attack towards the closing stages. You were sticking on to your defensive game, it was pointed out. Do you think that is a relevant criticism that your games need to be more aggressive, particularly towards the end of the games?
I think it's a very relevant point. The first thing I did after that match was to discuss this with my coaches. Maybe I should have attacked a little more in the end. In the initial stages, it was okay but I felt I should have attacked more.
When it is close you have to take chances. I had done that before. I could have been attacked a little bit more. It was one of the key advice from the coaches.
So is it safe to assume that we can expect a more attacking approach from you?
I'm just only talking about the closing stages.. those times you have to be on your toes to create chances and go all out in a few rallies and not think too much about prolonging the rally...
How you turned around the season heading to Paris... What was the secret behind the comeback, if you can name any?
After the world championships, I was struggling. By November, there was a change in my approach with a focus on building myself rather than just keep playing tournament after tournament. Somewhere in November and December, I found those few weeks of good training in Bengaluru where built myself up slowly. That period was the key and that approach changed results...
Still, I didn't do well immediately...I lost the Malaysia Open and India Open but slowly, my fitness level started to get better. Earlier I was not getting that match practice and intensity but eventually, it fell into place during the European tour. By March, I found the rhythm and French Open and All England gave me a lot of confidence. From there on it has been a great journey.
About reuniting with coach Vimal Kumar and his contributions...
He was part of the training group in Bengaluru although he wasn't travelling much. He has contributed a lot from my younger age to make me the badminton player I am today. Even when faced those seven first-round exits, he kept motivating me to do well in the next. He would analyse my bad matches but remained certain that I was going to make it to the Olympics.
