In the Asian Games Men’s Team Badminton final between India and China, a single photo frame captured the essence of a player’s athleticism, passion and skill. Lakshya Sen and Shi Yu Qi were locked in an intense battle at 20-20. The next point was perhaps going to be crucial for Lakshya as his opponent seemed to have found some momentum. Neither of them were ready to give up and it turned out to be another of those pulsating rallies.
Suddenly, Lakshya decided it was the right time to provide the finishing touches. He was airborne. The left leg was somewhere near the backcourt and the right leg was fully stretched. Just for a second or two, you wondered whether he would take a tumble. But, no. Lakshya kept his eyes on the shuttle, and his down-the-line smash was perfectly executed as it landed just inside the tramlines.
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Lakshya didn’t just balance himself after playing the shot, but was even ready to retrieve the shuttle, which never came back from his opponent. That one frame is why we talk so much about Lakshya. Diving all over the court, retrieving lethal smashes or chasing through on the forehand flank, he thrives while suffering on the court.
The edge-of-the-seat thriller wasn’t just about that one photo frame though. Early on, Lakshya had the upper hand over his opponent. Deft touches at the net – dribbles and even counter-dribbles – and his exemplary defensive skills unnerved the 2023 All England finalist.
Then Lakshya made a mistake, which looked fatal at that point of time. He missed a relatively easy net-flick, with the shuttle finding the net. That one error gave Shi a new lease of life. Shi had the momentum. He also found his range with body smashes. At 19-20, Shi even had a game point and with a potent smash came close to winning it. At that critical juncture, it was Lakshya’s brick-wall-like defense that prevented his opponent from hitting a clean winner. Soon, Lakshya changed from defence to offense and won the game.
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Shi, however, won the second game. In the final one, he attempted to intimidate his opponent with body smashes. For a moment, one wondered whether Lakshya was trying to match Shi’s raw power with smashes as the errors crept in. Knowing Lakshya, he wasn’t going to give up yet.
With the scoreline reading 13-14, Lakshya showcased a bit of wizardry at the net. The razor-sharp angle and power from the flick was such that Shi could only find the net. The final turning point of the game took place at 16-16. Shi retrieved a shuttle that looked set to be ruled out. Lakshya won that point and although Shi saved a couple of match points, he had passed the point of no return. At 20-18, Lakshya clinched the nail-biter with a smash and celebrated with some panache.
That is just a brief synopsis of the match. But what makes Lakshya so special? It is perhaps the lightning speed of his legs alongside strong lungs. Just do a simple Google Search, and you would notice that he comes from Almora, a hill station in Uttarakhand. Almora is around 1642 meters above sea level. That has to be one of the secrets behind his natural gifts.
Those natural gifts are supplemented by his never-give-up attitude. Simply put, Lakshya has the game and adroitness to become a world champion and consistently find himself in the top three of the rankings. It is true a deviated-septum condition haunted him for a while, and he even had a nose surgery. But at just 22, the 14th ranked player has more than enough time to fulfill his undoubted potential.
He showed bits of that fighting spirit and ability in Hangzhou. None more so than at 20-20 in the first game. All around the court, the boisterous Chinese fans kept chanting ‘Shā’, which basically means ‘kill’. But it was Lakshya who dealt the killer blow to silence the crowd. That still photo frame indeed conveyed a powerful message of what Lakshya Sen is all about.