Lakshya blocks out noise to finally achieve success

At the end of a long, trophyless season, the 24-year-old won the Australian Open

- Shahid Judge [e-mail]

Lakshya Sen looked straight into the camera. Then he closed his eyes and put his fingers in his ears. That was a moment of calm, his moment of peace. His moment of celebration.

Towards the end of a long, trophyless season, Sen had finally won a piece of silverware when he triumphed at the Australian Open, a World Tour Super 500 event on Sunday. Finally, in a year where he has struggled physically and mentally, the player from Almora, Uttarakhand had conquered some of those demons.

“There were a lot of things (I had to deal with) throughout the year,” he said during a media roundtable. “Especially when I was not doing well, there were a lot of doubts that were in my mind. I think for me, it was important to just block everything and believe in myself... Just trust yourself that you are doing the right thing.”