sports desk13 minutes ago
- copy link
Lakshya Sen is the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semi-finals.
Lakshya Sen is India’s only hope to get a medal in badminton at the Paris Olympics. The 22-year-old young shuttler has made it to the semi-finals of men’s singles. If he wins today, he will give India its first badminton medal in men’s category in Olympic history.
Lakshya is playing his first Olympics. His semi-final will be against Denmark’s Victor Axelsen from 12 noon. Lakshya was born in Almora, Uttarakhand, his brother, father and grandfather were also badminton players. Lakshya has been playing badminton since the age of 5 and used to cry out of sadness when he lost against his elders. He can now win Olympic medal for the country. In the story you will know his achievements and struggle story…
Father and grandfather are also badminton players
August 16, 2001. Lakshya was born in Almora, Uttarakhand to badminton player DK Sen. The roots of badminton in Lakshya’s family go back even before independence. His grandfather Chandra Lal Sen was a legendary badminton player. Due to which DK also played badminton and his two sons Chirag and Lakshya also made badminton their career since childhood.
Reached badminton court at the age of 5
Coming from a sports loving family, Lakshya reached the badminton court of Almora with his grandfather at the age of 5. Lakshya’s grandfather had also built a court in the city, but due to lack of facilities, DK Sen could not reach the international level from there. The struggle of father and grandfather made the path to the goal easier. As soon as he started school, he started playing badminton regularly with his elder brother Chirag.
Lakshya Sen has been playing badminton since the age of 5.
Did not teach traditional badminton to son
DK Sen is a professional badminton coach. He did not give traditional training to his batsmen, in which training starts with teaching service. DK started playing normal badminton with his sons, like the street children of India play. He did this so that Lakshya could get a grip on badminton.
DK believes that by doing this Lakshya became mentally stronger. During this period he also gave small badminton drills to Lakshya. So that the target learns to cover the entire court quickly. These drills are most important in badminton, but they are done only when the player has the habit of playing strokes. Whereas Lakshya had made a habit of these drills from day one.
DK says it is simple, ‘To play a stroke in badminton you have to reach behind the shuttle. How will you play a shot if the shuttle stays behind your body? It is important for young players to do a lot of running. Sprinting is also important because you need speed on the court.
Lakshya with father DK Sen.
Also got intense practice of defending
In the beginning, DK also worked on the defending skills of both the brothers. Make both of them have matches with senior players, so that they are not afraid of smashes and can defend them easily. His coaching skills were also criticized, but today Lakshya is getting success due to these skills.
DK explains, ‘Lakshya got into the habit of playing with players older than his age. He used to be a part of the team of elders in his school also. Even in the cultural programs of elder children, Lakshya used to take part in the front. The teachers would forbid him, but he insisted and somehow managed to participate.
Father sent both brothers to Bengaluru
Seeing that there was not much improvement in Uttarakhand, the father sent 7 year old Lakshya to Bengaluru with Chirag. Where Lakshya took his badminton skills to new heights at Prakash Padukone Academy. However, the grandfather could not see his grandson Lakshya succeed, he passed away in 2013. But the grandfather had lit the fire of badminton in his grandson.
Lakshya with father DK Sen (left) and Prakash Padukone (right).
Mother said, Lakshya used to cry after losing
Lakshya’s mother Nirmala has said in an interview, ‘Lakshya used to be defeated by older boys at a young age. He used to cry due to defeat, but still played badminton. He never liked losing, he always had the desire to win. Their mother tells that both the brothers are also good in studies. Even amidst international tournaments, Lakshya is completing his graduation from Uttarakhand Open University.
Lakshya used to train at 4:30 in the morning
Father says, ‘Lakshya’s training used to start at 4:30 in the morning. Both ran 2 km and also did a 200 meter sprint. I would always challenge him to run faster, but I would also intentionally lose to him. He is very stubborn and works very hard to win. With this determination, in 2014, Lakshya won his first junior title in the form of Swiss Junior International.
Lakshya Sen (right) with his parents and brother Chirag in Almora.
Won first senior championship in 2016
Till 2016, Lakshya won several junior championships. Winning the bronze medal in the Asian Championship was his best performance at the junior level. He started playing senior championships in 2016 itself and won his first senior tournament in the form of India International Series in the same year.
Lakshya Sen has become the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semi-finals of the Olympics.
Made a name for himself by winning gold in the Youth Olympics
In 2018, Lakshya won the gold of Youth Olympics and from here he became a new identity in the badminton world. He was also a part of Team India that won the Thomas Cup in 2022. He won gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He also won silver in the team event of Commonwealth.
Lakshya has won 4 titles of BWF World Tour and 7 titles of International Series. In 2022, at the age of 20, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award. Lakshya can now create history by winning a medal in his debut Olympics.
The first 4 matches in Paris were won only by 2-2 games.
Before the Paris Olympics, Lakshya played most of the BWF tournaments. The last tournament he played was Indonesia Open, in which he lost the quarterfinals. He reached the academy and started preparing for the Paris Olympics. In Paris, they won all three matches in the group stage in just 2 games.
Won the pre-quarter final in 2 games, then won the quarter final in 3 games and made it to the semi-finals. If Lakshya is successful in winning today’s match, then this will be his first final in 2024. Besides, this will also be India’s first men’s category medal in Olympic badminton history.
