Lakshya Sen

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lakshya Sen

• Lakshya Sen is an Indian badminton player who is known for becoming the youngest player to qualify All England Open Badminton tournament in 2022.

• When he was ten years old, he got admission to Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) with his brother, Chirag. In an interview, Lakshya’s father talked about his admission to the academy and said,
  

  In 2010 he was 9-9.5 years old and there was a tournament for the Under-13 age group category in Bangalore and we went there to take part in it. Since he was a kid I thought he won’t be eligible but I requested Vimal sir and he was really impressed with him. It was during the final stage when the progress actually happened. His elder brother, who was also taking part won the tournament so Prakash sir interacted with us and offered help.”

  

• In 2011, when he was ten years old, he won a tournament in Singapore.

  

• When he was twelve years old, he gave an interview, in which he said that when he grew up, he wanted to play in Olympics.

• In 2014, when Saina Nehwal shifted to Bangalore, she used to practice with the students at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bengaluru. Lakshya also got a chance to practice with Saina. In an interview, Vimal Kumar, Lakshya’s coach said that Lakshya was the only student in the academy who used to beat Saina during the practice sessions.

• In 2018, he posted a picture on Instagram in which he was seen shaking hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after winning the Youth Olympics.

  

• In August 2021, he did not get selected for the Indian badminton team as he lost in the first round of selection trials due to a stomach infection.

• On 19 March 2022, he became the fifth Indian after Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980, 1981), Pullela Gopichand (2001), and Saina Nehwal (2015) to reach the All England Badminton Championships 2022. In All England Badminton Championships 2022, Lakshya bagged a silver medal. He received a lot of appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Gandhi and MP of Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, Anurag Thakur. Before the All England Badminton Championships 2022, Sen got a chance to train with Viktor Axelsen in Dubai.

• On 9 July 2023, he secured his second BWF Super 500 title by defeating Li Shi Feng of China in straight games in the Canada Open final. ^[2]The Times of India

• Reportedly, during the initial days of his career, he used to cry after losing a match, but with time he learnt how to be composed. In an interview, he talked about the changes in the game from 2017 to 2020 and said,
  

  Compared to my junior days I am a little more patient. Trying to rally more. I need to improve this more for sure, but there are a lot more things to learn, but from then to now, it is a difference in my game. That I make the effort to play better strokes from the back, not just go all out with smashes… trying to build up a point. In the senior circuit, everyone is fit and the shuttle keeps coming back. You have to play long rallies, long matches. Preparing for that, I have improved my fitness.”

• In 2022, he was featured in Forbes India 30 Under 30.

  

• He is an avid dog lover and often posts pictures of them on social media.