New world No. 9 Lakshya Sen concedes he's marked man

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 22

A lot has changed in the life of Lakshya Sen in the last six months or so. The badminton prodigy, who was touted by many — including his father-coach DK Sen and the great Prakash Padukone — as India’s next big singles star, has started to repay the faith.

A string of famous wins over top players such as world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen (who he beat 21-13 12-21 22-20 in the German Open semifinals), No. 3 Anders Antonsen (at the All-England Championships), and world champion Loh Kean Yew at the India Open this year has made him a marked man on the circuit.

Opponents now watch him carefully, to find any crack in his armour, and fans and the badminton community have a new star to look up to in major tournaments.

His run at the All England Championships, where he had to settle for silver after a loss to Axelsen, has propelled the boy from Almora to a career-high world No. 9 in the latest rankings. While he likes his new-found status among the badminton elite, the 20-year-old concedes that going forward, there is a target on his back.

“I definitely feel that I am marked now. This has happened because of the performance in the last six months,” Sen said. “Players on the circuit are now looking out for me to try to read my game. Media is writing about me and the fans are also interested, so I am grateful for all these things that are happening,” he added.

The World Championships bronze medallist added that the jump in the rankings will help him in tournament draws but his focus remains on doing well in major events. “Ranking is important for events but at the same time I want to keep myself fit for big tournaments. Chen Long has retired so in all probability I will be seventh or eighth in rankings and I will be able to avoid a top-8 player before the quarterfinals,” he explained. “At the same time, I will focus on winning tournaments.”

Big belief

According to DK Sen, his son and the entire team got a shot of confidence during a month-long stay in Bali, where he ran both Axelsen and Kento Momota close in two back-to-back tournaments late last year.

“For me, things started to change last year in Bali. Lakshya played five matches, two against Viktor (Axelsen) and two against (Kento) Momota,” the senior Sen said. “If you remember, Momota was world No. 1 then and in the same week Viktor became the No. 1. He fought well. He may have lost four matches but he was playing as an equal,” he added. “It gave us a new sense of self-belief that we can match their levels. It was a turning point. Now everyone can see his fighting spirit and how well he is performing on the court.”

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