Lakshya Sen (Pic Credit: All India Radio News’s X Handle) NEW DELHI: When Lakshya Sen left for the 2026 All England Open Badminton Championships, he carried the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders. Expectations were high after his remarkable run in 2022, reaching the final of the prestigious tournament.The 24-year-old was well aware of the attention and was determined to put the disappointment of the 2022 finals behind him. Match after match, round after round, he progressed steadily through the tournament and raised hopes of a historic triumph.
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Then came the big moment – the finale.But the final hurdle again proved elusive for the Indian space shuttle.Lakshya lost to Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in straight games 15-21, 20-22. Despite a rough fight and battling cramps and blisters, he fell short of the title. As a result, India’s 25-year wait for an All England men’s singles champion continued.
Lakshya Sen (Pic Credit: All India Radio News’s X Handle)
India last tasted success at the tournament when Pullela Gopichand lifted the trophy in 2001. Before him, Prakash Padukone famously won the title in 1980 after reaching the finals in 1980 and 1981.Lakshya, who became only the second Indian player to reach two All England finals, again had to settle for second place.
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After the match, his face showed disappointment. He stood on the field for a while, looked up and slowly walked away.Former shuttler and now coach Parupalli Kashyap believes that Lakshya has strong physical and mental qualities, which the young shuttler has consistently proved by consistently reaching the finals of major tournaments.“Twenty or twenty-five years ago, India didn’t even have many players competing regularly at this level. There was a time when India hesitated to send badminton teams to major events because we weren’t competitive enough. Now we are talking about an Indian player who has reached multiple finals at major tournaments. That in itself is a great achievement. It is not difficult to ‘fail’ in the top finals – Kashy tells them he is extremely consistent,” he said. TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“Lakshya is one of those players who understands how to perform at big events. He has a very good mindset, a strong work ethic and a great approach to training. He has all the qualities needed to become a top professional. When he started playing in the international circuit from lower levels, he always had a very stable mindset. That is something very important for the growth of a player. What a player needs to become Lakshya himself,” said Lakshya.“For me, this is just the beginning for him. I think he has the right mindset and the right attitude to succeed,” he added.“I always judge top players by how they perform in crunch situations. Some players are naturally very good in those moments. Others have to learn how to deal with pressure. In Lakshya’s case, I have seen him remain quite relaxed even in big situations. There is aggression in his game, but also balance. This balance in thinking is very important. Some players are gifted with this ability, while others have it naturally developed over time,” he said Kashyaos.
Lakshya Sen (AP Photo)
THE “FINAL” OBSTACLEAt just 24, Lakshya has already brought several laurels to the country.His achievements include a bronze medal at the 2021 BWF World Championships, a gold medal with India at the Thomas Cup, gold and silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the Asian Games.His junior career was equally impressive. Lakshya won a silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics, a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Championships, a gold and a bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships and also won the mixed team gold at the Youth Olympics.However, the final hurdle remains the area where Lakshya will look to improve.The Indian shuttler narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, finishing fourth after losing to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match.After finishing second at the 2022 All England Open Badminton Championships, Lakshya again reached the final of the German Open later that year, but lost the title fight to Kunlavut Vitidsarn.The final hurdle came again when he went down in the All England Open in 2026.
Lakshya Sen (Pic Credit: All India Radio News’s X Handle)
Former Indian badminton player Trupti Murgunde believes Lakshya needs to step back and analyze what went wrong in the final despite often enjoying a dominant run in the earlier rounds of tournaments.Murgunde, who currently serves as a coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru, was also part of the coaching staff when Lakshya won bronze at the 2021 World Championships in Huelva.“Definitely everyone would feel disappointed. These are big stages and that’s what players work for for many years. But that’s also part and parcel of the sport. Yes, in Lakshya’s case, he’s still young and has a long way to go, but he’s also been on the circuit for a while. It’s not like he’s just arrived in the last three or four years, even at the junior world level he’s been doing well since his junior medal,” he said. Trupti said.“He also did fantastic in the Olympics, although he missed out on a medal there in the bronze medal match as well. So of course there will be some disappointment. If reaching the final but not winning it becomes a pattern, he will have to analyze it carefully and work on it – be it the mental side or the physical side,” said Trupti, who won five bronze medals at the 2006 Asian Games, the Asian Games and in south melbourne it has gold.“In this particular event, I felt that the physical side might have played a role in the final. Given the way he played throughout the tournament, especially in the semi-finals where he pushed himself so hard, maybe his body didn’t fully support him in the final. Mentally, however, he looked good. He seemed confident from his body language watching the final. Sometimes the body is there, but the mind is not the other factor – and sometimes you just need to have that other point. analyze it individually,” she said.“It’s even more special for Indian players because we haven’t had many winners there. Unlike countries like China or some other Asian nations where players reach this stage regularly, it’s still a rare moment for us. So whenever an Indian reaches this stage, all eyes are on him. We saw that when Sindhu also reached the final. Naturally, it creates a different level of pressure. At the same time, it brings a different feeling when you reach the title itself, you know you’re a little bit further. You have to stay mentally strong. I’m sure Lakshya will come back and do well in the upcoming tournaments, but sometimes opportunities are missed and that’s part of the sport,” said Trupti.
Lakshya Sen (AP Photo)
For veteran Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth, the situation is easy to understand as he has faced similar challenges several times in his career. Praneeth understands how Lakshya must be feeling after failing in yet another grand finale.At the 2016 All England Open Badminton Championships, Praneeth stunned badminton great Lee Chong Wei in the opening round of the tournament – a result that highlighted his ability to perform on the big stage.In fact, players like Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth were once considered India’s best hopes of repeating the historic achievements of Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand at the prestigious All England.For Praneeth, just reaching the final of a major tournament is no small feat – something he insists should never be taken lightly.“Sometimes it comes down to fate too. If you look at Lee Chong Wei, he’s played in three Olympic finals but never won a gold medal, and he’s reached the World Championship finals five times without winning a title. That’s not to say there was anything wrong with his preparation. Everyone gives their best at that level. Even in the final, Lakshya played really well. Maybe it wasn’t just his day or Praneedia,” Time said.
Lakshya Sen (AP Photo)
“Playing two All England finals is definitely not a joke. He had good chances to win both times, but maybe he was not lucky. Still, I feel that he can win the All England soon and even in the World Cup he played very well. I have been watching him since he was a child and even then many people believed that he could become one of the best players in the future. The way he is now very strong and physically he is very strong and mentally he is also strong, which is a very important factor in badminton. In tournaments like is All England, a lot depends on mental strength, if you look at the semi-final he played, it was one of the best matches he won mainly because of his mental toughness.“Winning big events is a dream for any athlete and Lakshya is doing especially well in big tournaments. From what I know, his preparation is very solid. He is very mentally strong and confident. If he plays his best, he can beat anyone in the world,” said Praneeth.
