“Happy to find my rhythm again” - Lakshya Sen after his good show in All England Open and French Open
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen mathematically secured his place in the Paris Olympics 2024. He is currently ranked 12th in the Paris Rankings. Notably, a country can clinch a maximum of two spots in the singles category in the top 16 rankings to be released on April 28, 2024.
The 22-year-old has been in exceptional form, progressing to semi-finals in the French Open and All England Open this year.
He fell just one step short in the All England Open 2024 after losing in the semis to Indonesia's Jonathan Christie by 12-21, 21-10, and 15-21. Earlier in the French Open, Lakshya faced a defeat in the semis against Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand by 21-19, 13-21, and 11-21.
Lakshya, while speaking in an exclusive interview with Rev Sportz, highlighted his comeback after having a tough period in the last year and in the early stages of this year. He stressed on reclaiming his confidence after beating big players in recent tournaments.
“Yes, it was a tough period in the last year. I was not getting that much game time in the matches that I wanted certain matches not able to convert well and certain matches not find the Rhythm on the Court,” Lakshya Sen told Rev Sportz.
"In the last two tournaments that I played French and All England to be a specific lot of the things went right and lot of good tough matches that I won and I think starting of the French Open I wasn't that confident and I think once I started beating good players few good matches in and then the confidence started to build up really well. Happy to find my rhythm again before such an important event this year,” he stated.
“I didn’t get much time to improve on fitness and tactical front” - Lakshya Sen
Before securing his Olympics spot, Sen had faced a lot of wrath in the last year, including early exits in the French Open, Denmark Open, China Open, and World Championships. On playing multiple tournaments without getting enough breaks, Lakshya stated that he couldn’t get enough time to work on his fitness and tactical front.
“I think every day I was just trying to improve on and off the court and I think last year I would say we played a lot of tournaments. I think in the starting part of the qualification, I played a lot of tournaments. I think that's where somewhere I didn't get that much time to practice and work on myself and really improve myself on the fitness and the tactical front,” he emphasized.
Most recently, Sen propelled from the 15th to the 12th position in the Olympic Games Qualification Rankings. With the top 16 players getting a chance to make it to the Olympics, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen are currently ranked well inside the top 16.