New Delhi: Young badminton player Lakshya Sen is not satisfied with a bronze medal in his maiden World Championships and has promised to do better in the All England Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games, promising to win gold in this tournament next time. The 20-year-old from Almora lost 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 to compatriot veteran Kidambi Srikanth in a very close semi-final on Saturday.
Lakshya, who once took a 15-13 lead in the decider, told PTI, “It’s been a long tournament and it’s hard to digest a loss like this when you are so close. I got bronze, but I’m not happy. I am not very satisfied with my performance in the semi-finals.” “I played a lot of good matches, faced some tough opponents, even in the semi-finals it was a close match, it could have gone in someone’s favour. This medal will give me the motivation to move forward. Next time I will try gold.”
With this medal, Lakshya joins the ranks of his mentor and sports legend Prakash Padukone (Bronze in 1983) and B Sai Praneeth (Bronze in 2019) who have won medals for India in this prestigious event. Lakshya said, “It is a good thing that I made it to the semi-finals in my first World Championship and my name is associated with Prakash sir, but I am looking forward to win many more medals like him. Especially I want to win the All England Championship like him.”
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“The bronze medal will boost my confidence a lot. This is a strong step forward for future tournaments.” Before the semi-finals, Lakshya played some tough matches, with two out of three matches lasting three games. It also included a close quarterfinal match against China’s Zhao Jun Peng. “When you play three-game matches, it is difficult to come back fresh. The semi-final was also a tiring contest. His (Srikanth) quarterfinal was easier than me, but this is a game where you have to give your best in every match.
Sen said that he has suffered a lot of injuries for some time now but now he has time to rest and come back fresh for the next season. His eyes are on big tournaments like next year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, he said, “I want to start training after taking some rest. The season will start with the India Open and then I have to play the Syed Modi tournament as well.” “Next year is all the big tournaments like Commonwealth, Asian Games, All England. I am looking forward to do well in these events. Meanwhile, my aim is to be in the top 10 of the rankings. (agency)