Lakshya Sen defeats a world champion to win the India Open
In a title match on home turf, slows down and minimizes errors to defeat World Champion Loh.
Lakshya Sen defeated Singaporean Loh Kean Yew and the enticing instinct to emulate; the world champion’s showboating when he won the India Open Super 500 at IG Stadium on Sunday.
The desire to engage in a who’s faster, who’s hitting harder competition between two men in their early twenties; both prepared for a ferocious assault, appears to have pushed the Almora man into danger at fundamental points. Sen, on the other hand, appeared to be developing and controlling himself, placing the world champion; who was seemingly blessed last month, in the shade. He is a global bronze medalist, became the first competitor on the circuit to defeat Kean Yew; winning 24-22, 21-17 in his first major appearance at the Delhi event.
Lakshya acknowledged after the victory that he was nervous. “It’s good to win,” says the winner. Finally, I was a little nervous about winning. “However, I’m pleased with the victory,” he said.
Sen was pushed to the limit in both the semi-finals and the finals. Sen is the most anticipated main act in Indian badminton in 2022; thanks to his confidence and momentum in pressure circumstances.
The victory, which came on the same day that Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy; 22, and Chirag Shetty, 25, defeated Indonesia’s thrice World Champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohamad Ahsan; was proof that the age of the well-trained Indian men’s badminton player; who is not a one-off like Prakash Padukone and P Gopichand, had arrived.
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Sen, Lakshya has been guided into the most purple of patches on the world circuit by regular one-on-one chats with Padukone.
Lakshya Sen is a fascinating case study in Indian athletics. Sen, who was handpicked at the age of eight by Padukone; has grown up in the sport in the most ideal of circumstances. He was fortunate to have supportive parents (his father is a licensed coach); as well as the best facilities and technical expertise at the Padukone academy, where he was coached by Vimal Kumar. He was also well-funded, thanks to government support and the Olympic Gold Quest closely monitoring every training step he took. Years of meticulous planning have resulted in a project that has thrived in the Indian ecosystem.
Padukone made sure Sen was able to train with some of the best in the world; from Danish great Peter Gade in France to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in Dubai; to add small facets to his game and continue honing it over time.
Sen has more international experience than any other Indian men’s singles player; and he has a strong line-up of excellent sparring partners in Bangalore. Sung Yoo Yong; the incoming Korean coach, was chosen from a pool of 15 candidates from Malaysia; Indonesia, and Korea after lengthy Zoom interviews with the former Olympic medalist in the United States.
Sen wasn’t afraid to toss the shuttle and slow the ship down to braking; speeds in order to deprive Loh of his speed oxygen.
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A traveling physiotherapist, frequent dietary consultations, and sleep monitoring – all performed by experts – round out the elite performance package.
The Korean coach worked with Vimal Kumar to devise a strategy to beat Kean Yew; a breakout young champion who had risen to prominence thanks to his incredible speed. However, it took a very complex intellect to pull off the beautiful simplicity; of not going overboard and avoiding showy strikes when the opponent was doing just that. Even when Sen was leading 16-12 and 20-17 and on the verge of triumph; he kept his cool and won peacefully after sticking to his plan throughout.
Kean Yew uses a crowded attack, which consists of flat, quick exchanges that jar opponents.
Kidambi Srikanth has been eliminated from the World Championship finals by the flurry.
Sen slowed the pace skillfully, refusing to feed the shuttle to Kean Yew’s racquet.
Sen’s ability to come back from deficits — which only; Saina Nehwal can claim — was a defining feature of his title run.
Even when Sen was leading 16-12 and 20-17 and on the verge of triumph; he kept his cool and won peacefully after sticking to his plan throughout.
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Kean Yew came back from a 17-19 deficit in the first set to win 20-19; and had three set points after that. Sen, on the other hand, would not be denied. He drew the stupidest of serving faults and a smash into the net from Kean Yew; a sitter on a yawning court. Sen would win the first game 24-22 with a daring sideline drop. From 14-11 in the second set, he maintained a 3-point lead over Kean Yew and avoided any last-minute drama; playing the most consistent tennis of the tournament.