Badminton News: Back in top form after struggling through tough times, Lakshya Sen is hoping to build momentum towards the World Championships when the Indian star kicks off the competition in Copenhagen, Denmark on August 21 .

His eyes are on his first Asian Games medal and breaking into the top 5 in the world, but Lakshya Sen says his focus right now is on the world championships, which shows his preparations are on track.

After a turbulent period, Lakshya Sen turned things around by winning the Canadian title in July, followed by two semi-finals at the US Open and Japan Open 2023. The 21-year-old from Almora had previously won his first bronze medal at the 2021 world championships.

“The World Championships are a week away, I think the previous tournaments I’ve been in will really help me get into the tournament,” Sen told PTI on the sidelines of the inauguration of the National Center of Excellence in Indian Badminton Association here.

“The preparations have been good. The last tournaments, the performances are going well, but there are still some things to learn and improve.”

“Over time it will get better and the preparation for the games for this tournament has been very good because I have played a lot of good games in the past, and that will give me a lot of confidence. It’s still a week or 10 days. I’m looking forward to training really well and then doing well at the World Championships.”

The Asian Games, a multi-sport continental event, to be held from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China, is another big event that is currently on its radar.

“It’s a very big event and it happens once every four years, so it’s a special event. I’ve played a big event like this twice in my career. I’ve been to the Games Youth Olympics and Commonwealth Games, so meeting all the players and watching different sports has been a great learning experience for me,” he said.

“So, I hope to do well at the Asian Games, but for now the first priority is the World Championships and then we will focus on the Asian Games.”

Lakshya Sen went through a difficult phase after the world championships in August last year and quickly saw his world ranking jump from six to 25. He is currently ranked 11th in the world after a series of strong performances in recent weeks and hopes break into the top 5 next year.

“I want to be in the top 8 in the world soon and the goal is to be in the top 5 at the end of the Olympic qualifications. But, again, at the same time, there are a lot of tournaments. So the priority is to win the big tournaments and the ranking will sort itself out,” he said.

A year ago, after the world championships, Lakshya Sen underwent rhinoplasty to treat a twisted septum. What followed was a protracted recovery process that lasted eight months.

His physical condition affected his performance and he was knocked out in the first round in the last four events of 2022 and struggled at the start of 2023.

“It’s been a slow start for me this year, but the last few months I’ve felt good on the pitch and the training I’ve had over the last 4-5 months has helped me a lot,” said he declared.

“In the beginning, I tried a lot of new things. I also changed coaches and with the arrival of Anup (Sridhar) bhaiya in December, it took time to adapt to the team. “

Following the departure of his Korean coach Yong Sung Yoo after the 2022 World Championships, Sen made several changes, bringing Sridhar to the board and also reinstating exercise and sports science specialist Deckline Leitao, who has been coaching since he was 10 years old.

“With Dad (DK Sen) and Vimal (Kumar) present, it’s definitely a unit where I can focus on training on the pitch and not get injured. I’m also struggling with health issues. I can’t push in training because of my illness,” Sen said.

“Due to my post-nasal surgery I had some issues but in the last 4-5 months I have recovered from that and hope to play more events.”

It’s a tough fight to keep delivering results for players in a busy schedule that has them playing week after week in pursuit of ranking points, especially with Olympic qualification on the line.

“There are a lot of tournaments but it’s the same for all players. This year is an Olympic (qualifying) year, it’s very important for everyone to do well in the early stages of qualifying,” said Sen.

“In terms of tournaments there are a lot and you just have to be ready to play a lot of games and take care of your body, that’s something I’m prioritizing right now, with a good tournament that’s what that I am looking for,” he concluded.

Article Tags: Lakshya Sen, BWF World Championships 2023