'Lack of sting, application': What’s worrying coach Vimal Kumar most about Lakshya Sen’s poor form

Indian badminton sensation Lakshya Sen is having a tough 2025 as he struggles for form and consistency, suffering seven first-round eliminations in 10 tournaments. His best performance so far has been the quarter-finals at the All England Badminton, which has also been the only tournament in 2025 in which he has managed to go beyond the Round of 32.

His latest defeat came at the Round of 32 in the Japan Open, where he lost 21-19, 21-11 to World No.7 Kodai Naraoka of Japan. World No.18 Sen, who hails from Almora, started brightly in the Thursday match as the scores were levelled 17-17 in the first game at one stage, but his inability to close out the game came back to bite him as he went to to lose 21-19.

Coach Vimal Kumar explains Lakshya Sen’s struggles

Sen had faced similar issues at the Paris Olympics 2024 when he lost the bronze medal match to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia despite winning the first game. He had also blundered three game points in the first game of the semi-finals against Viktor Axelsen before losing the match.

Former Indian badminton coach Vimal Kumar, who is also Sen’s childhood trainer, is worried the young prodigy is failing to apply himself in the closing stages. “I’m disappointed and a little concerned. Till 17-all ( in the first game against Naraoka), he was OK, but Lakshya should have taken the first game," Vimal told the Indian Express. “He’s still not applying himself in those crucial situations. He needed to push pace for Kodai can be beaten when you vary pace.”

Naraoka made a blistering start to the second game but faced stiff resistance from Sen as the Indian took the score to 6-10 after being 1-8 down, but once again lost momentum as the Japanese upped the ante with lethal smashes in the absence of any significant net play from the Indian shuttler.

Vimal Kumar was also quite critical of Sen’s game at the net. “Lakshya was not sharp at the net and Kodai was comfortable playing him. The shuttle wasn’t spinning in dribbles or tumbles leading to errors and lifts were not great,” the former Indian badminton player told Indian Express.

While Sen has recovered from shoulder and ankle injuries, Vimal said his smash shots have also lost a lot of sting over the years.

“When I speak to him he says shoulder is OK. But maybe back of his mind, he’s still wary and hence tentative (about injury). But the big problem is when he comes under the shuttle (ideal position), his hard smashes on the body lack sting,” the coach said. “Last couple of years it’s becoming a little ineffective.”

“He tends to play slices and half smashes, but he’s not employing the hard smash from good positions. Typically if he hits one and it gets returned, the next two three shots lack the same power and sting so he can’t finish the down stroke,” he added.