#CWG2022: Lakshya Sen says music and routines keep him focused

Like his first name, which means goal, shuttler Lakshya Sen is just focusing on his aim — to win medals for India! Prepping for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (July 28 to August 8), the 20-year-old says his training is “going good” and his target is to “keep improving”.

Earlier in March, he became the first Indian in 21 years to reach the finals of YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2022. “My aim is to play top international badminton for another eight to 10 years, and try to win as many tournaments as possible,” says the sportsperson, who has a lot of expectations riding on him. He’s aware of it, and yet maintaining his calm, shares, “I listen to Punjabi music, and do my routines to keep my focus before the match... There will be added pressure this time. But I have coaches and mental trainers; I speak to the them before my match to have a game plan ready.”

Uttarakhand-born Sen was also part of India’s epic Thomas Cup win in May. Winning laurels for the country while juggling studies seems to come easy for this youngster who is a graduate from a university in Uttarakhand. “We train five to six hours in a day, and have one-and-a-half hours of recovery after that. Towards the end of training for CWG ’22, we try to play more matches to get the feel before the [main] games,” he adds.

Such a hectic schedule certainly requires a nourishing diet, and Sen says he’s cool about it. “My diet is pretty much the same throughout the year... There is no big change for any tournament. When I’m at home, I eat food made by my mother. I eat a lot of protein for my recovery. While travelling, there is an urge to try the local cuisine; however, I hold it until the event is over,” he says, adding how his subconscious gets triggered before the next tournament to analyse and better his performance.

Sen, who won gold medal at the 2018 Asia Junior Championships in the boys’ singles, shares, “Past performances give you a lot of confidence. I learn a lot from the tournaments I play, and keep working on it throughout my training. After the tournament, we sit down with the coaches and analyse it, and try to be better in the next.”

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