Meet the pillars of strength in India’s new badminton star Lakshya Sen’s life | Badminton News – Times of India

“A decade back when we started supporting a tiny Lakshya Sen & shifted him to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bangalore, Prakash sir told me that one day this boy will conquer the world. I laughed. But he obviously wasn’t joking.”
Sport can surprise you, to the extent that you may actually celebrate being proven wrong. In former India hockey captain and Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) Director and CEO Viren Rasquinha’s words above, there’s a prism of similar emotion that reflects pride, joy and a sense of fulfillment.
In the last six months, Lakshya continued to slay giants on the court and his great run saw him move into the final at All England Championships. He met Viktor Axelsen, the Dane legend he had upset only last week in Germany. But Axelsen’s homework left nothing to chance. The result was a second All England title for him, in straight games — 21-10, 21-15 — on Sunday.

(Viktor Axelsen with the trophy and Lakshya Sen on the All England 2022 podium – AP photo)
“The scoreline is not an indication of the intensity of the match,” said Vimal Kumar, Lakshya’s coach at the PPBA, while talking to TimesofIndia.com. “Nothing to feel bad about the defeat yesterday.”
Vimal has his reasons for that opinion. And so do others who have been a part of Lakshya’s journey so far.
Rasquinha, through his association with OGQ; Lakshya’s coaches Vimal and Yoo Yong Sung at PPBA; Prakash Padukone himself; Lakshya’s family, of course; his physio Abdul; Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and others — they know only too well about Lakshya’s ride so far through the valleys and peaks of professional badminton in a journey that began when he was just 10.
They also know what Lakshya is capable of.
When Lee Zii Jia’s 397-km winner whizzed past Lakshya in the semifinal, he was down 12-16 in the third game. The defending champion smacked his lips, standing on the threshold of the final. But Lakshya upset the Malaysian player’s rhythm completely over the next 12 points.
There’s a lot that has gone into developing that fighting instinct in the 20-year-old Lakshya.
His mother, Nirmala Sen — who is a teacher and adept at yoga, credits that to what her two sons did under their father and badminton coach DK Sen’s guidance during the Covid-19 lockdown.

(Photo credit: TOI arrangement)
“There used to be a curfew from 7 am onwards. So they, Lakshya and his elder brother (Chirag), would wake up by 5 am and finish their workout and training by the time it was 7,” she told TimesofIndia.com.
“If we couldn’t go out, his father would make room in the house by moving the furniture in the drawing hall to make space. They would practice their serves in that space, and also did yoga sessions with me.”
Taking his first steps as a toddler in Almora, racquet and obsession for badminton was a regular sight for Lakshya and Chirag, as their father was employed as a badminton coach.
So besides the pandemic and the forced lockdown, their father’s dedication towards them and the sport was a familiar thing.
“While many kids got overweight during lockdown, my sons benefitted and got fitter…even Vimal sir appreciated that when they returned to PPBA,” Lakshya’s mother further told TimesofIndia.com.

(Photo credit: TOI Arrangement)
According to Vimal, missing out on the Thomas & Uber Cup last September hurt Lakshya a lot. But it also turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The same day when he got the news about his exclusion from the team, Lakshya received a call from Axelsen.
“Viktor invited Lakshya for team practice in Dubai,” said Vimal. “Going over there, more than playing with Viktor and others, he was very impressed with the way Viktor was managing his affairs. Doing everything on his own, taking responsibility.
“When he came back and mentioned this to me, I told him ‘that’s what the top players do, professionals, that’s how they function. They don’t look for excuses…you have a good training base, support, everything is there…you should get to a stage where India (federation) should invite you and say please come and play, you are the best player for us and we need you. You should aim for that sort of status, not (be) a fringe player’,” Vimal added during his conversation with TimesofIndia.com.

Among his coaching staff, Lakshya also has two-time Olympic silver medallist Yoo Yong Sung, who was recruited by Lakshya’s sponsors OGQ.
Sung has made a world of difference to Lakshya’s game within three months of his appointment (hired in December 2021).
“It took us one year of searching and interviewing coaches across the world before we narrowed down on Yoo Yong Sung,” said OGQ boss Rasquinha. “OGQ is paying his entire salary…It’s already worth it. He has brought immense value to the table in terms of tactical nuances and quality and intensity of training.
“Prakash sir and Vimal sir have been absolutely key to all of this,” Rasquinha told TimesofIndia.com.

(Lakshya, second from left, with Viren Rasquinha and Prakash Padukone – Photo credit: TOI arrangement)
The efforts and hard work put in by everybody involved with Lakshya have started coming to fruition over the last six months, and more and more elite names now keep getting added to the list of Lakshya’s victims.
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Axelsen, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting, reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew, World Championships bronze medalist Anders Antonsen and 2021 All England champion Lee Jii Zia — Lakshya has beaten all of them in the last few months.
It has earned Lakshya five podium finishes in the last four months, besides breaking into the top 10 for a while (currently he is No. 11). But like baseball great Babe Ruth once said: “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.”

How Lakshya enjoys the view from where he is right now, as he aims to climb higher, will be the key building up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After the defeat to Axelsen on Sunday, Lakshya’s mother rang him up.
“On the whole, he was okay,” she shared with TimesofIndia.com.
The young man is maturing fast.