Lethal smashes to skillful net game, the making of Lakshya Sen

After winning the Tokyo Olympics gold, Viktor Axelsen invited five shuttlers, including Lakshya Sen, to spar with him at his new training base in Dubai. Disappointed at being dropped from India’s Thomas Cup squad, Sen decided to train with the select group and was instantaneously left in awe of the Dane, who was organising and planning his sessions, training, coaching and recovery without any assistance.

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Impressed by the world No 1’s work ethic, the 20-year-old decided to play the European leg of the circuit in October-November without any physio or coach. It was only during three successive tournaments in Bali in November-December that Sen sought assistance after gaining a lot confidence travelling solo.

“He started playing at a much better level. He realised and understood what all he gets here in India. He gets everything here; people are always here to support him. (Since then) he has become more responsible,” said long-time coach U Vimal Kumar.

Smashing his way to success

In Dubai, Sen dissected Axelsen’s game, particularly his smash which is one of the most powerful on the men’s tour. Ever since he started following badminton, the world No 11 was enchanted by the move. He would keenly observe the stance of the greats, the timing of their jump and the angle at which their racquets would come down hard at the bird which would get buried at the other end of the court.

“He was impressed with people like (Malaysian great) Lee Chong Wei and (2004 Olympic champion) Taufik Hidayat. He used to watch them play but has developed a good smash on his own,” said Vimal, formerly chief national coach.

Net game

Though he has built a strong jump smash, ironically it is Sen’s net game that has become his USP. Knowing the Indian’s strength, Axelsen kept Sen away from the net during his straight games victory at the All England final on Sunday. Axelsen lifted almost every net shot to the backcourt, wrong-footing Sen, who was instinctively trying to reach the forecourt.

Sen’s net play though was in full display during his second-round win against Danish world No 3 Anders Antonsen, quite possibly the most tactical player on the circuit. Sen’s application of drops, dribbles, and deft touches turned the contest in his favour, frustrating Antonsen.

“The net and defence are the two most important parallels in the singles game. Lakshya’s been working on the net from a very young age. A good player has to emphasise on dominating the net area. Lakshya has been taught that,” added Vimal, a Dronacharya awardee.

“Basically, the work is in good dribbling at the net which creates openings and opportunities especially when the shuttle is fast. It is an important requirement for singles players to practice a lot at the net.”

Improving defence

According to Vimal, who started training Sen at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru a decade back, Sen’s single weak area was his defence. When under pressure, Sen would be frustrated at his inability to retrieve, and make errors after rushing into the points.

However, over the past year Sen has worked with his coaches to overcome this hurdle. He brought dramatic changes to his defence by becoming more patient and just keeping the shuttle in play, sticking to percentage badminton, even when down against opponents as seen in his semi-final victory over the defending All England winner Lee Zii Jia.

“I find a lot of change in the last six months. We kept telling him the relevance of defence that it plays a very important role. Lakshya realised that. Couple of years back when Morten (Frost) was helping him, he also emphasised on this particular aspect,” said Vimal.

“It’s good that he took these inputs and kept it in his mind. That comes with experience. All these long-drawn matches, especially against defensive players, have helped him realise what he needs to do, which is how he has transformed.”

Sen concurs. "I have played really good badminton continuously, playing at the top level. This is what I have to keep doing. Now I know what it is to play in big tournaments. I am mentally and physically prepared for the road ahead,” said Sen.

Padukone, who first identified Sen’s potential a decade back during a selection trial, is not pondering over his loss, saying that his journey has only begun.

“Lakshya has all the qualities required to remain a medal contender for the next few years. He is hard working, focussed, disciplined, dedicated, grounded and most importantly mentally very strong even while playing against players ranked higher. He has shown this quality in abundance especially in the last two tournaments,” said Padukone, the first Indian to win the All England title in 1980.

“The recent leg of European tournaments has been very successful for Lakshya as he has beaten some of the players ranked within the top-5. This shows that his World Championship bronze was no fluke. Over the past six months, he has been one of the most consistent performers. This is never an easy task, especially for a youngster like Lakshya. He’ll most certainly break into the top-10 when the world rankings are announced this week.”

Meanwhile, an “exhausted” Sen has decided to skip this week’s Swiss Open and will next play the Korea Open in April.

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