History hung heavy in the air as Lakshya Sen entered Utilita Arena Birmingham on March 20. India had sent four finalists to the All-England Open—the world’s oldest badminton tournament—before the 20-year-old from Uttarakhand. Three of the four were household names—Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand and Saina Nehwal. The fourth one was not, but had, perhaps, the most interesting story. Prakash Nath had won a coin toss against teammate Devinder Mohan to enter the 1947 semi-finals in England. They knew each other’s game inside out, and knew that whoever won their gruelling quarterfinal would be exhausted going into the semi-finals. Hence, they flipped for it.
Nath breezed past the semi-final but lost at the last hurdle. He had apparently read about the partition in the newspapers on the morning of the final; his hometown of Lahore was in flames, and he went into the final in a daze.
He is said to have never touched a racket again.
Surely, none of this was on Lakshya’s mind. He had just beaten the defending champion—Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia—the previous night and had been cheered on by Sachin Tendulkar on Twitter. Also, just a week ago, he had upset the man who stood before him in Birmingham.
Viktor Axelsen knew this, of course. The great Dane, world number one and Olympic champion, was gunning for his second All-England title, and had had a good look at the young man across from him. He had, after all, called the Indian Sen-sation—along with four others—to train with him in Dubai six months ago.
Axelsen had divided Denmark with his decision to move to the UAE. According to Danish website Jyllands-Posten, he is no longer part of the national camp, but continues to play under the Danish flag. Better facilities, the climate (drier Dubai helps with his asthma) and easier travel made him move, apparently.
Having done all this, Axelsen was not going to leave anything to chance. And, indeed, he did not. He had not dropped a game throughout the tournament, and he was in no mood to start. He zoomed to a six-point lead in the first game, making Lakshya fetch the shuttlecock from all corners of the court. Axelsen knew the Indian was strong at the net, and so avoided that confrontation as much as he could. It helped that Lakshya seemed over-cautious, playing at least two shots that he could have left. At one point in the first game, Axelsen led 12-3. He eventually took it 21-10 in 22 minutes. It was clear. One of the shuttlers was at his peak, the other had just left base camp.
There were flashes of brilliance, though. Lakshya played some incredible defensive shots and looked to have tired out Axelsen—eight years his senior—by the end of the second game. He made fewer mistakes deeper into the game and made Axelsen sweat. He also showed a lot of patience, was willing to draw out rallies, perhaps to his detriment in some cases, and had some sudden bursts of energy.
But the Dane was clinical. Cheered on by his toddler, Vega, and partner, Natalia, from the stands, and fed strategy by coach and father-in-law Henrik Rohde, Axelsen did not allow Lakshya to claw his way back, like the latter had done in the semi-final. Soon, it was all over. 21-15. Victor, Axelsen.
The two then swapped shirts; Lakshya got a souvenir from his first All-England final. “I feel I played well, too,” he said after. “He was really solid on defence. There was a lot of pressure before the match, but when I entered the court, it was another match for me.”
His coach and former Indian player U. Vimal Kumar told a news agency after the match: “I am happy with his tactical acumen, there is considerable improvement. He is calm and deals with tough situations better. I also see a remarkable improvement in his defence, especially after how he has tackled the attack of Viktor [Axelsen] and [world number three] Anders [Antonsen].
“He will now be scrutinised and studied and he will have to cope with all that. Overall, he is going in the right direction, but he can attack more from the back of the court and bring in more variations.”
For now, though, Lakshya needs a break. He has opted out of the Swiss Open on March 22 and will be back in Bengaluru for seven to 10 days before the Korean Open.
Also, he has penned a deal with Baseline Ventures, the same company that represents P.V. Sindhu, to work on ‘Brand Lakshya’. The handsome lad could soon be in ads, selling anything from shoes to protein shakes.
What he does not have to sell anymore is his potential. He has proven that he can swim with the sharks. With a bit more time and a bit more polish, he might outpace them, too.
“He has truly announced his arrival on the world stage, but the greater challenge for him begins now,” said Padukone of his ward. “From my own experience, I can say with conviction that reaching the highest level is difficult, but the bigger challenge is staying at that level as it requires a lot more effort and mental strength. However, as of now Lakshya has all the qualities required to remain a medal contender for the next few years.”
The seemingly overnight success, though, was crafted over a decade. When he was 10, his parents had plucked him out of snowy Almora and dropped him into the arms of Padukone in Bengaluru. Lakshya had taken to the game when he was six, wielding a racket taller than him. He had seen his grandfather play, and his father, D.K. Sen, was a badminton coach to boot. The interest grew, as did the boy.
Cut to Bengaluru. At the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Lakshya and older brother, Chirag, tucked their childhoods under their mattresses and began a full-court press. Diet, training, discipline; all the words that flash in montages of a sports ad. Results started showing, too. He aced the juniors, crying his heart out at the occasional slip-up, and pretty soon became boys’ world number one. He was like a sponge, absorbing any wisdom his coaches offered. A lot of people have talent, said Kumar, but Lakshya was level-headed and grounded, too.
An explosive player, he smashed and dove his way to several podiums—he won gold at the 2018 Asia Junior Championships and silver in the Youth Olympics the same year.
He was earmarked for glory in coming years, and pundits keenly watched his days of transition to the senior stage. Lakshya, though, obeyed no such timetable; he took to the big league like a duck to water. The past six months, in particular, have been a smashing success. He has medalled in four of his past five tournaments, and has felled, among others, Axelsen, Antonsen, Lee Zii Jia and world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
And there is a lot more to come. The year is packed with events, including the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
In December, after becoming the youngest Indian to medal at the World Championships (bronze), Lakshya had told an interviewer the one thing he wanted to do—watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Marvel fan was sick of the spoilers on social media and wanted to get it over with.
Given his career graph, it seems more of a spoiler than a prediction that Lakshya will find more podiums this year.