What’s the story?
India’s latest badminton sensation Lakshya Sen, who recently climbed to the top of the Junior Badminton World rankings, has impressed badminton guru Pullela Gopichand. The Dronacharya award-winning coach heaped praise on the 15-year-old shuttler and dubbed him as the next big thing in Indian badminton.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Gopichand said, “Lakshya reminds me a lot of the Danish players, apart from agility and swiftness, he can switch his game to a more power oriented role, where his smash can land winner after winner. He definitely has a bright future ahead for India, a future top 10.”
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Sen first burst onto the scene in 2012, when as a 10-year-old he won the Israel Junior International. At that time Prakash Padukone had showered praise on him and even went on to say that Lakshya plays better than what he used to play at the age of 10.
He won yet another International event, this time at Wimbledon, a couple of years later. He won the bronze medal in the individual event and was also a part of the Mixed Team at the Junior Asian Badminton Championships held in Jaipur.
The heart of the matter
The youngster, who hails from Uttarakhand, has been making all the right noises in the sport at a very tender age. Earlier this week, he became the no.1 Junior Badminton player in the world. It is a remarkable achievement, especially when you keep in mind that the sport is dominated by countries like China, Japan and Indonesia.
Gopichand is India’s go-to coach when it comes to badminton. He has a full-fledged academy in Hyderabad where he trains young talents. Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, India’s two Olympic medallists, have both been coached by the former All-England Open champion.
Now, that the national coach has heaped praise on Lakshya, expectations on the youngster will surge.
What’s next?
Lakshya should be concentrating on qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and possibly winning a medal there. Even if he doesn’t manage a podium finish in Tokyo, he will be only 18 years old in 2020 and India can certainly hope for some fireworks from him in the future.
Sportskeeda’s take
India’s progress in the field of badminton has been exceptional over the last few years. First, it was Nehwal and then Sindhu took on the mantle. Who knows, maybe, Lakshya will win India’s next medal in badminton at the Olympics.
