“Will be scrutinised now, need to work on variations” – Coach Vimal Kumar on Lakshya Sen
Follow Us
Vimal Kumar and Lakshya Sen
Young Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen became the talk of the town owing to his spirited performance against the World No.1 Viktor Axelsen in Birmingham at the All England Open final. The 20-year-old Sen, who earlier won bronze medal at the 2021 Huelva World Championships, went down 10–21, 15–21 against the Danish badminton player.
Meanwhile, Sen’s mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar has stated that the Almora native will be scrutinised and studied more after his sensational run at the All England Championship. He also mentioned that Lakshya, a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru, would need variations in his game from the back of the court to stay ahead.
“I am happy with his tactical acumen, there is a considerable improvement. He is calm and deals with tough situations better. I also see a remarkable improvement in his defence, especially after how he has tackled the attack of Viktor (Axelsen) and Anders (Antonsen),” Vimal told PTI.
“Lakshya is disappointed but he has that spirit”
Lakshya Sen has exhibited a phenomenal form in the sport across various parts of the globe in the last couple of years. He has clinched the India Open title in January before finishing second best at both the German Open apart from heroics at the BWF Super 1000 tournament in 2022.
“He will now be scrutinized and studied and he will have to cope with all that. Overall, he is going in the right direction but he can attack more from the back of the court and bring in more variations.
“He is disappointed but he has that spirit. He is very realistic and he knows why he lost. He knows what he needs to improve if he has to beat someone like Axelsen. He understands that he can’t feel too bad or be disheartened,” said Vimal, who is a head coach at the PPBA in Bengaluru.
Stay Updated!
Sachin Arora
(2527 Articles Published)