Lakshya Sen's Inspiring All England Journey: Overcoming Paris Pain
HYDERABAD: The manner in which Lakshya Sen crafted his campaign at the All England Championships in Birmingham this year stands as a truly inspirational story. In certain respects, it echoed his experience at the Paris Olympics, where he lost the bronze medal match to Lee Zii Jia after leading 21-13, 7-2.
Familiar Territory in the Semifinal
He found himself in a familiar situation during the All England semifinal against Victor Lai. When leading 14-9, Lakshya began cramping, and blisters severely hampered his mobility. Lai seized the opportunity, winning five of the next seven points to narrow the gap to 14-16. Old doubts resurfaced: questions about Lakshya's ability to close out crucial matches. However, the Indian shuttler demonstrated remarkable resilience, refusing to yield and playing through intense pain to ultimately prevail.
Mental Growth and Transformation
It is evident that significant changes have occurred over the past 20 months. "Mentally, it has been quite challenging to come back from such a big loss, returning to the circuit and performing well in recent months. It has been a valuable learning process. After Paris, I have evolved as a player and tried to take things in stride. I focused on keeping things simple, concentrating on one match at a time without obsessing over winning every tournament," Lakshya stated on Tuesday.
The Paris loss deeply impacted Team Lakshya and his family as well. "He has always possessed a steely resolve. Vimal ji and others assembled a strong support team to assist him," noted his father DK Sen, who plays a crucial role in the training setup. To bolster his mental fortitude, mental conditioning coach Mon Nimrod Brokman from Israel joined the team. "I've been working with him for about a year. I gained extensive knowledge about mental training. We began approaching tournaments differently. I started participating in 500-level events for preparation and didn't dwell on those losses. Dad and I had numerous discussions about them. Entering major tournaments, our approach will be significantly altered," Lakshya explained.
Mental Conditioning in Action
This mental conditioning proved pivotal during the All England semifinals. "The semifinal against Viktor Lai was tricky as I started cramping very early in the third set. I had to block out all the intrusive thoughts, such as 'whether I will be able to finish the match or not, whether the cramps will become too severe.' But I was determined to test myself that day, just play one more point and see how far I could push," Lakshya recounted.
Emphasis on Recovery and Preparation
Lakshya acknowledged that post-match recovery and preparation have become essential aspects of the modern game. "Matches have become extremely physical. I am not 20 anymore to recover quickly. I'm not claiming I'm old, but there are adjustments you make in terms of preparation, recovery for the next match, and especially diet. When I was 21-22, I could eat anything without gaining weight. Now, there's a slight difference... I have to manage many things related to recovery," said Lakshya, highlighting that workload management has also grown in importance.
"I also dealt with shoulder injuries, which affected my ability to play attacking shots as effectively as in previous years. Over time, you become more cautious about how much you can push, how many matches you can play, and then you need to rest... I am taking greater care between tournaments to stay injury-free," he added.
Special Significance of All England
As only the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to reach two All England finals, Lakshya expressed that this tournament holds a special place in his heart. "It's a special tournament to compete in. As a young kid, I always dreamed of winning many titles, starting with the All England... I tend to perform well here," he remarked.
Looking Ahead to Major Events
With the Asian Games and the World Championships on home soil approaching, Lakshya indicated that he will thoroughly analyze his All England campaign with his team. "Those are the two major events I will be focusing on this year," he concluded.
