For Lakshya, it is about finding consistency: Gade

A gifted defensive player, Sen added some attacking shots to his arsenal last year and it’s helping

- Sandip Sikdar

Lakshya Sen has been India’s top men’s singles shuttler with his ranking ranging between 10 and 20. The 24-year-old peaked in 2021 and 2022. During this time, apart from winning titles on the BWF World Tour, Sen also won a World Championships bronze, reached the All England Open final, won the Commonwealth Games gold and reached a career-high ranking of No.6.

But his graph has dipped since. The Almora-born player won an odd tournament or two but a share of injuries and subsequent surgeries could be blamed for his dip in form. Round 1 or 2 exits became the norm, causing him to drop to No.25 in the world. But even when Sen was completely fit, he was never able to consistently replicate the explosive badminton he had displayed earlier.

Until the second half of last year. Sen first reached the Macau Open semis before making his first final at Hong Kong in September. He then followed it up with a semifinal appearance at Japan Masters before clinching the Australian Open in November — his first title outside India in 28 months.