Lakshya Sen, the badminton prodigy from India, made it to the headlines after defeating World No. 3 Jonatan Christie, taking India to the Round of 16 at the Paris Olympics. With an easy win against HS Prannoy (World No.13), he made his way to the quarterfinals where he defeated Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen World No. 12 and stormed into the semi-finals. Sen’s spectacular performance has garnered a lot of appreciation. Read this blog to know all about his childhood and how he became a nationwide sensation. 

Lakshya Sen’s Childhood

Born on 16th August 2001 in Almora Uttarakhand, Lakshya started playing badminton at the tender age of 5. Badminton runs in the family. His father Dhirendra K Sen (aka DK Sen) is a well-known badminton coach, his brother Chirag, has competed at a national level and his grandfather is credited to have brought badminton to Almora. Lakshya was just 9 years old when he travelled 12 hours by bus, from his home town to New Delhi, just to watch his favourite badminton players Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Taufiq Hidayat showcase their phenomenal gameplay at India Open. It was all fascinating for a child who had immense love for badminton. 

Lakshya played other sports like basketball, cricket, and football as well, but his passion for badminton kept on increasing with each passing day, and ultimately, at the age of 10, he was invited to train at the prestigious Prakash Padukone Academy, where he was mentored by the legend, Prakash Padukone (ranked World No. 1 in 1980), himself. 

Lakshya’s Competitive Nature

Lakshya has been competitive since early childhood. In an interview with News 18, DK Sen shared a childhood incident. “When he was in nursery class and Chirag was in higher standard, there used to be a prayer in the morning for senior kids. Lakshya told his teacher he too wanted to say the prayer with big boys. The teacher said the seniors can learn by heart as it is easy for them, they are bigger than you. But he forced the teacher to listen to him and he recited almost 80 % of the prayer.”

His mother Nirmala further shared “Losing is not an option with him. He would play while crying. Big tears in his eyes, while playing against older boys who led on scores. He just did not want to lose. If he did he would sulk,” 

Even as he grew up, Lakshya reflected a deep intensity and desire to win, which was observed by his mentors Padukone and Kumar. Whenever he used to lose a match, he would sit in a corner and cry. Gradually he learnt to control his emotions with growing age and experience.

Lakshya Sen’s Achievements

• Lakshya Sen’s achievements have been remarkable and he has astounded the world of sports with his blazing rise. Here are some of his noteworthy achievements.

• In 2016, Lakshya clinched the bronze medal at the Junior Asian Championship. 

• He competed at the senior international level and won the men's singles title beating Malaysia's Yee Han Chong at the 2016 India International Series.

• In February 2017 Lakshya bagged the No.1 junior singles player title in the BWF World Junior Ranking 

• He won the Asian Junior Championships by defeating Kunlavut Vitidsarn, reigning No. 1 in 2018

• He bagged the silver medal in Boys’ Singles at Summer Youth Olympics in 2018. He also clinched a bronze at the BWF Junior World Championship in the same year.

• In 2019, Lakshya clinched the first BWF Tour title of his senior career after winning the Dutch Open Men’s Single against Yasuke Onodera of Japan. 

• In November 2019, Lakshya won the SaarLorLux Open by defeating Weng Hongyang from China. He also defeated Brazilian Ygor Coelho, bagging the Men’s Single Title in the 2019 Scottish Open.

• He was a part of the Indian team that bagged bronze at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships.

• He won the India Open, his Super 500 title, by defeating Loh Kean Yew in 2022

• He was a part of the Indian team that bagged the Thomas Cup in 2022

• He clinched a gold in the Men’s Single at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was also a part of the Indian team that won Silver at a mixed team event. 

• Lakshya has been honoured with the Arjuna Award, for his outstanding performance and sportsmanship. 

Lakshya will now be facing either Loh Kean Yew (Singapore's 2021 World Champion) or Viktor Axelsen (Denmark's Olympic champion) in the semi-finals, depending on who wins the quarter finals among the two. In an interview with PTI, he shared "I think having tough matches gives you confidence. I am now ready to go deep into the tournament. It will be a tricky match against Chou, I have to go and recover well and give my 100 percent," Known for his phenomenal attacking instinct and powerful smashes, Lakshya is the superstar of all Indian badminton lovers.