"One of the greatest comebacks" - Lakshya Sen after winning Canada Open title

Having saved four game points on his way to the Canada Open title, Lakshya Sen has described his 21-18, 22-20 win as one of his greatest comebacks.

The Commonwealth Games champion trailed All England Open titlist Li Shi Feng 20-16 in the second game before turning the tide in his favor in the final on Sunday (July 9).

It was the first time Sen tasted title glory since his Birmingham heroics in August last year. The intervening period was difficult on the 21-year-old. He had to undergo a nose surgery to treat a deviated septum and the recovery took more time than expected.

Sen's immunity level went down in the aftermath, leaving the youngster frequently sick. He struggled to perform on the court and saw his world ranking plummet to No. 25.

This year, the 19th-ranked shuttler's best performance before coming to Calgary was a semifinal appearance at the Thailand Open.

Lakshya Sen

@lakshya_sen

Sometimes, the hardest battles lead to the sweetest victories. The wait is over, and I am delighted to be crowned the Canada Open winner! Grateful beyond words #SenMode #BWFWorldTour
#CanadaOpen2023

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Sometimes, the hardest battles lead to the sweetest victories. The wait is over, and I am delighted to be crowned the Canada Open winner! Grateful beyond words 🎉🏆 #SenMode #BWFWorldTour
#CanadaOpen2023 https://t.co/u8b7YzPX01

Naturally, he's relieved to have finally hit his stride this week. With 2023 being an Olympic qualifying and Asian Games year, the importance of the win is paramount.

While speaking to PTI following his Canada Open triumph, Lakshya Sen said:

“Coming into the Olympic qualification year, it was tough as things didn’t go my way, So this will be one of the good tournaments for me and playing the finals like that is for me one of the greatest comebacks."

The Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy student's European swing in the spring turned out to be a disaster.

Having reached the final at the German Open and the All England Open last year, he had a bucketful of points to defend. However, with his health issues flaring up this time, Sen won only one match in the two events.

Looking back at his struggles, Lakshya Sen said:

“I was training well but post-surgery, I was falling sick and immunity was not well, I had a lot of health issues. I couldn’t play 100 per cent. I had prepared well for All England, but again couldn’t do well."

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"I just want to remain injury free" - Lakshya Sen

Lakshya Sen

@lakshya_sen

A special shoutout to my incredible sponsors and well wishers for their unwavering support. Thank you for believing in me.
🏸
@ppbaindia @bai_media @media.iccsai @olympicgoldquest @indianoilcorp @redbullindia @Herbalifeindia @mastercardindia @baselineventure

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A special shoutout to my incredible sponsors and well wishers for their unwavering support. Thank you for believing in me.
🙌🏸💪
@ppbaindia @bai_media @media.iccsai @olympicgoldquest @indianoilcorp @redbullindia @Herbalifeindia @mastercardindia @baselineventure https://t.co/beu4SPYEef

Staying focused on remaining fit is naturally the biggest priority for Lakshya Sen right now. Having finally managed to sort out his health issues, the Almora-born player hopes to remain injury free for the rest of the season.

“I won’t say it is a relief. I still have to play a lot of tournaments, but this win will give me big motivation that I am doing the right thing and belief in my process,” he said.

“There are a lot of tournaments, I will just take the positives from this one. Now that my health issues are sorted, I just want to remain injury-free and fit for the good season ahead.”

Lakshya Sen (right) with his former coach at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Image: Getty)

Lakshya Sen also made changes to his coaching setup recently. With the departure of his Korean coach Yong Sung Yoo post the 2022 BWF World Championships, the young shuttler has had to re-build his support system that took time to take off.

Arjuna awardee Anup Sridhar joined his team this year along with sport and exercise science specialist Deckline Leitao.

“Since my Korean coach left, there have been a lot of changes, I have tried different things in training, and it is all helping me now,” he said while discussing the coaching changes.

“The kind of support system that I have with Anup bhaiya, my physio and I changed my trainer, now I am working with Deckline Leitao."

Now that he has gelled well with them and also delivered on the court, Sen admitted to feeling far more confident than before.

“So gelling with all and having Vimal (Kumar) sir and my dad (DK Sen) around, it all helped," he said. "I hope to continue the form in the Olympic qualification year, it gives me a lot of confidence and belief.”

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