Tata Open 2017: Lakshya Sen sets benchmark for up-and-coming shuttlers with 'consistent, mature' game

Mumbai: Sitting on a chair at one corner of the court, Sagar Chopda, a coach at the Prakash Padukone Academy, just couldn’t believe how Lakshya Sen managed to execute a sharp serve at a crucial stage of the match. Leading 19-17 in the decider against Malaysia’s Yee Han Chong in the opening round of the men’s singles event, Sen produced one the best moves of the day with a gutsy service that took the Malay by surprise. “He does things which the opponent might not expect at all. Like today, he just changed the angle of his serve at 19-17. Very few players have the ability to pull off or think like this knowing that one or two points here and there can cost them the match,” Chopda told Firstpost after Sen’s match. [caption id=“attachment_4236305” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Lakshya Sen in action at the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championship in Nagpur.[/caption] Though he lost that particular point rather controversially as the chair umpire awarded a point to Sen only to reverse the decision moments later as the shuttle had kissed the Indian’s racquet before landing wide. Chong, the World No 139, was furious with umpire’s late reaction but Sen kept his cool to extend his lead thereafter and eventually register a 21-23, 21-10, 21-18 win over the Malaysian in a 63-minute contest. He didn’t look like a junior-level player at all. Throughout the match, Sen covered every inch of the court with ease and found space to attack from every angle possible. Despite losing the first game 23-21, the 16-year-old stayed calm and clinched the second stanza 21-10 to force a decider. “Even at the match point, the opponent played the serve at the net but Lakshya was still ready to go and pounce on the shuttle because that’s what he was doing throughout the match. He was ready and alert. I think it’s natural or inborn because sometimes you cannot execute what the coaches tell you. You need guts to play a shot like that,” added Chopda. This wasn’t the first time that Sen’s maturity on the court worked wonders for him. Just four days ago in the final of the India International Series, the former junior World No 1 produced his A game in yet another three-game thriller against the same opponent to successfully defend his title in Hyderabad. It’s often said that winning a tournament is easy but to defend it is a different challenge altogether, especially in racquet sports. “In the last six months, he has improved a lot in terms of his strength, especially his upper body and arms. It’s one of the reasons why he is able to punch shots from the forecourt. At the junior level, players don’t have the maturity to handle the pressure but Lakshya (Sen), I have to say, has done it regularly,” reasons Chopda. The Uttarakhand shuttler is a part of the rare breed of players who shine on fast courts where the shuttle travels in a jiffy, like the one at the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru. However, since most of the Asian countries have slow courts, including the one hosting the tenth Tata Open in Mumbai, Sen has to always rely on his smashes and long-lasting rallies. Notably, the youngster has become more patient in his play, where he often pushes the opponent towards the backcourt and then goes for the winner. Sen has failed to reach the quarterfinals just twice in the 11 tournaments he’s played so far in 2017 — including the Junior World Championships in October. To maintain this habit of being consistent at such a young age is one such trait that the rest of the lot should learn from Sen. The junior World No 3 has also shown glimpses of his trickery at the net and steely defence against an attack-minded Kidambi Srikanth, who was stretched despite winning the semi-final clash at the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championships in Nagpur last month.  “Others need to be consistent. Lakshya is the most consistent of the lot. There are Siril Verma, Rahul Yadav, Abhishek Yelegar and Daniel Farid who play one good match and then they falter in the other important games. They need to play more tournaments,” Padukone told _Firstpost_ on the sidelines of the pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. Looking at the pace at which Sen is developing, one would expect the right-handed shuttler to become a force to reckon with in the coming years. However back at the academy, the 16-year-old still undergoes an overall program, where the emphasis is more on getting basics strong apart from speed, stamina, and other technical aspects.  “He has got a year more where he will, as you say, have a fully grown body. In the last one year or so his height has increased. The transition from the junior level to the senior level will take time but he still needs to improve the technical aspects of the drop shots, which to be a little sharper,” explained Chopda before adding, “He is working more on being a little more patient and playing longer rallies. Not to forget, he is at a tender age where your mind starts wavering, plus there are a lot of emotions running at the same time.”