Paris Olympics 2024: Shuttler Lakshya Sen gearing up for 'biggest challenge' of his life ahead of Summer Games debut

After shining in major tournaments such as the World Championships, the Thomas Cup, the All England Open and the Asian Games, Lakshya Sen is gearing up for the biggest challenge of his career so far - the Olympics.

The 22-year-old badminton star from Almora is set for his maiden appearance in the world’s biggest sporting event in Paris, where he will be hoping to add to India’s three medals won in the sport — two by PV Sindhu in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Sen is among seven players representing India in badminton in Paris.

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Speaking to reporters ahead of the Paris Olympics, in which the badminton event is scheduled to take place between July 27 and August 5 at Aréna Porte de La Chapelle, Sen expected “very, very tough” competition in what he describes as the “biggest tournament of my life”.

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“This will be the biggest tournament of my life. Competition will be very tough as everyone will bring their A-game. I have to be at my very best, play well consistently in all matches. But I am really focussed and prepared for the next 2-3 weeks in Paris," Sen said in a virtual interaction from Marseille, where he had been training ahead of his Olympic debut.

Unlike Sindhu and HS Prannoy, Sen faces a tough draw in Group L , where he is up against world No 3 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia besides Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon and Belgium’s Julien Carraggi, ranked 41st and 52nd respectively.

Sen had gone down fighting against the eventual champion Christie at the All England semi-finals in March this year, suffering a 12-21, 21-10, 15-21 loss. While the Indian enjoys an undefeated record against Cordon and Carraggi, he has lost each of his last four meetings against Christie, who is a favourite to top Group L.

Sen however, backed his training to finally overcome the challenge from the Indonesian in Paris and had the belief he could upset the apple cart and finish on top of his group instead.

“Christie has been a tough opponent. All my matches against him have been close. I will be watching those matches, observing the areas I can do better from last time. Simultaneously, I’ll be focussing on my strengths, on how I can control the game and play my best.

“I have played all of them before. I know what to expect. It is a tough pool. But I would be playing the Belgian and Guatemalan before facing Christie which will help me set up a good match against Christie. I have to be really sharp,” Sen added in the virtual call organised by Baseline Ventures.

Paris Olympics 2024 | India's medal chances in badminton

Sen will be on collision course with compatriot Prannoy should the two top their respective groups, and the former enjoys a slender 4-3 lead in their head-to-head record. The 22-year-old, however, isn’t thinking that far ahead yet.

“As of now I am only thinking of winning the group. There is a lot of work to be done before the knockouts. Overall, I am really prepared to go out there and give my best,” Sen added.

Sen had a 12-day training stint in Marseille, where he was accompanied by a 10-member support team that included brother Chirag, before joining the rest of the Indian contingent in the Olympic village on Monday. Also part of his support team is Korean coach Yoo Yong Sung, who had won men’s doubles silver in Sydney 2000 as well as in Athens 2004.

“He has got two (Olympic) silvers in his bag and the experience that he shares is great. Tactically the way he analyses other opponents and gives you advice is really helpful,” Sen said, when asked about Sung’s influence in his training.

As for picking Marseille as the venue for his final round of training before the Olympics, Sen revealed it was all about getting used to the pace of the shuttle.

“(It was about) mainly coming here early, get used to the time zones, the sleeping patterns and just be on the same. I would say the shuttle speed also matters a lot because in Bangalore it is quite fast.

“When we train in a different place like Marseille, which is closer to the sea, the shuttle travels much slower and I think it will be somewhat similar in Paris as well — keeping the drift and air conditions in mind it will be a little bit different — but overall the shuttle speed also makes a lot of difference,” Sen added.

Sen, who was part of the history-making Indian men’s teams that won gold in the 2022 Thomas Cup and silver in last year’s Asian Games, will be the first Indian shuttler in action in Paris as he takes on Guatemala’s Cordon on Saturday at 7.10 pm IST.

Later, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a solid medal favourites, will take on France’s Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar in their opening clash.