"I feel blessed to be here" - Lakshya Sen after his victory over Julien Carraggi

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen hit the ground running. On Monday, he defeated Belgium's Julien Carraggi 21-19, 21-14. This victory puts him one win away from qualifying for the round of 16.

Even though Sen eventually won in two straight games, the win was by no means a cakewalk. In fact, Carraggi was leading for the better part of the first game. But Sen battled hard and came out on top.

"I was struggling a little bit in the beginning to find a good length from the first court but again happy with the way I stuck in there and fought every point till the last," Sen said in an interview with Prasar Bharti.

Sen was trailing 15-17 at one point, but put on a tenacious fightback.

"And at the end, I could really hold on the nerves and convert the first set," he added.

In the second game, Sen put in an even better performance. He led from the offset and ultimately secured victory.

"The second game gave me a lot of confidence. Then, I was against the wind and I could play my shots freely. (Overall,) happy with the way I played today," Sen said.

"I feel blessed to be here and playing in this tournament. I have always dreamt of playing in this tournament," Sen added.

In his first match on Saturday, Sen defeated Guatemala's Kevin Cordon in straight sets. While picking the first victory is always a confidence booster, what was even better was the "point difference" that he had garnered. At a competition of this magnitude, the point difference can be significant in deciding your fate.

A little over 24 hours later, life threw a curveball at Sen. Cordon, who withdrew from the competition due to an injury, resulting in Sen's victory over him being nullified as per regulations. Per BWF General Competition Regulations for group stage play, all the results of all matches involving Cordon were considered "deleted."

The win over Carraggi makes Sen's next match, against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, a straight shootout. The winner advances to the round of 16. Earlier this year, Christie defeated Sen in the semifinals of the All-England Open.

"Having them behind you gives a lot of confidence": Lakshya Sen credits Prakash Padukone and U. Vimal Kumar

In the same interview, Lakshya Sen mentioned that having legends like U. Vimal Kumar and Prakash Padukone in his court has been a blessing. Sen expressed that both gave him insightful advice throughout his match.

"I think having them sitting behind you gives you a lot of confidence. At times in between the points, when they tell you something it is really helpful. I think their reading of the game is really good. Once I am inside, they are really sharp with their advices to me," said Sen.

Bonafide legends of Indian badminton, U.Vimal Kumar and Prakash Padukone, have been mentoring Sen for a while now. The 22-year-old acknowledged their hard work.

"I think they have done a lot of handwork. Prakash sir and Vimal sir have been there since I was 10. They have been helping me and in the last few months, it has been little bit extra ... from my end, from everybody’s end, the whole team." Sen added.

This is Lakshya Sen's first appearance at the quadrennial games and after an impressive start, expectations of him have risen. However, there is still a long way to go before he attains glory.