New Delhi: The past two weeks or so have seen a transformation in Lakshya Sen. That was clear on Saturday when he pushed Jonatan Christie, his opponent for the day, to the limit in his men's singles semifinal match at the current All England Open Championships in Birmingham.
Lakshya turned on his fighting spirit, which has been essential to his success over the years, after losing the first game, where he seemed absolutely out of sorts (mostly because of Christie's game intelligence). It was truly mesmerising. He displayed amazing smashes and outstanding defence—he even pulled off a defensive when the score was 18–6 in Lakshya's favour that would have fit on one of his YouTube highlight reels.
He announced another comeback tale with U Vimal Kumar and Prakash Padukone (the first Indian to win the coveted All England Open Championships) at his side. Less than twenty-four hours prior, he had travelled the same path. However, it was not meant to be. Christie was agitated for most of the second game, but he calmed down and won three straight games (12-21, 21-10, 21-15).
Even though he lost, his performance over the past two weeks—during which he advanced to the semifinals of the French Open—is a huge victory for him and the Indian badminton community. He had been gazing at doubt regarding his qualification for the Olympics before then. “I’m happy with the way I played in the second game. I hoped for better results in the third,” Lakshya said after the match.
Lakshya stated following the game. The 22-year-old wants to concentrate on finishing games in two, even though he will have some positives from his run at Birmingham.
Sen took the scenic path in his next two victories, following a rather easy victory in the opening round. He freely acknowledged following the game that it had an effect on his recovery process. He had also accomplished this at the French Open, where he prevailed in all four of his matches. “I will want to close out matches in two games,” he said.
Christie's journey to the finals, where he will play his Indonesian opponent Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, is also a major confidence boost. Christie had had an erratic career, just like Lakshya. Regardless of how the finals turn out, this experience might provide him a huge boost before the Olympics.