"It still hurts and will for sometime" - Lakshya Sen reflects on Olympics heartbreak after overcoming bronze medalist Lee Zii Jia in China
India's badminton ace Lakshya Sen brought an end to his post-Olympics win drought as he clinched victory in his opening match at the China Masters on Wednesday, November 20.
Since finishing fourth at the Paris Olympics earlier this year, Sen had participated in three tournaments before this and failed to secure a single outright win. As poetic as it might sound, this win in China came against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia — the opponent who had defeated Sen in the bronze medal match in Paris.
While not as gruelling as their encounter at the Olympics, this match too seemed to follow a similar script. Much like in Paris, Sen won the first game, only for Lee to bring the match to parity in the second one. Even in the third set, the scores were level at 5-5. However, Sen pulled through to eventually prevail. The final scoreline was 21-14, 13-21, 21-13.
Speaking to the media at the mixed zone after the match, this is what Sen had to say:
"It feels good to win a match after a really long time. Things have been a little bit up and down post the Olympics. Still trying to get back to my fitness. Took a break (for) a little bit. Slowly getting back into the circuit. A couple of tough rounds before this. Happy with the way I played today. Looking forward to tomorrow."
Given that their clash at the Paris Olympics was the fulcrum of the narrative coming into this match, it was only a matter of time before Sen was asked a question about his Olympics heartbreak. Pain manifested in the Indian shuttler's voice as he reflected back on it.
"It was a tough tournament," said Sen. "In a way, it gave me a lot of positives as well. But having come this close… it still hurts a bit. And I think it is still gonna hurt for sometime."
Sen still feels the agony of missing out on the podium in Paris. However, he also understands that now, it is about moving forward.
"The only thing I am trying to take is a lot of motivation from that (his run at the Olympics) and push myself to be a better badminton player overall," said Sen in the same interaction.
"Now, I am trying to get back to my (full) fitness. (There are a) few niggles here and there. (I am) trying to manage them and trying to build myself real strong so I can play the next season really strong. This year is about just getting a few good matches under the belt and maybe have a good performance before the year ends. (I am) trying to build up to Malaysia (Open) next year and then, All England (Open)."
A look back at Sen's winless run post the Olympics
Following the heartbreak in Paris, Lakshya Sen went through a wretched run of form. As mentioned above, prior to the China Masters, he participated in three tournaments, failing to secure a single contested win.
The first mission he undertook post the Olympics was the Artic Open in Finland. Sen progressed through to the Round of 16 of this tournament after receiving a walkover in the first match. However, he crashed out after losing to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the next round.
Next was the Denmark Open, where Sen lost to China's Lu Guangzu in the first round itself. At the Japan Masters that were held last week, he was again defeated in the first round, albeit this time in a tightly contested match against Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao.
However, after the win over Lee, fans are hoping that Sen gets on a roll and registers consecutive wins in the ongoing China Masters. His next match will be against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke. The winner will qualify for the quarterfinals.