Who is Lakshya Sen? Taking a closer look at India’s Asian Games 2023 Badminton medal hopeful 

Lakshya Sen is among India’s top badminton players and there is no reason why he cannot make a podium finish in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. Sen, currently the No.14 shuttler in the BWF World Rankings, brought India gold in the Commonwealth Games last year in Birmingham after rallying back from a set down against Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong.

Later that year in November, the 22-year-old achieved his career-best ranking of No.6 in the world. After dropping to No.25 earlier this year following the All-England Championship where he exited in the second round, Sen is steadily climbing the ladder again.

Sen is a medal contender in the Asian Games badminton men’s singles along with HS Prannoy, India’s highest-ranked player, Kidambi Srikanth, and Mithun Manjunath.

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Can Lakshya Sen return to his best?

The last couple of months have not been the best for Lakshya. After he won the Canada Open back in July, the young shuttler has struggled quite a bit. He bowed out in the US Open semi-final after which he suffered a similar fate in the Japan Open.

Back in August, Lakshya struggled with his fitness as he retired from the Round of 32 match in the Australian Open. With the scoreline reading 0-5 against him in the opening game, Lakshya decided to bow out.

Lakshya won his first two matches in the World Championships before losing to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the pre-quarters. Thereafter in the China Open, he crashed out in the opening round after losing to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen.

He also pulled out of the Hong Open hours before his first-round match because of a strain in his back. It was learned that he took the call keeping in mind the Asian Games. It now remains to be seen if Lakshya can stay focused and win his maiden Asian Games title.

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