India's emerging badminton sensation Lakshya Sen is geared up to make his Olympics debut in Paris. The 22-year-old qualified for Paris by the barest of margins as he was ranked 19 in the world by the cut-off date i.e. July 9.
Set to represent India for the first time at the Games, Lakshya has left no stone unturned in ensuring that he is battle-ready once the tournament gets underway.
The Commonwealth Games champion has specifically worked on his net play to give himself the best chance of going all the way on his Olympic debut.
"We have focused a lot on overall improving the game and we had a good time for the last 6-7 weeks where I could really work on all the areas of the game," Sen had replied to a PTI query during a virtual interaction on Saturday.
"From defence to attack and overall, we have tried to get better at everything, and at the same time, worked a lot on the areas (in) which I was not really good at (and) maybe give extra time on the net game, the defence and also closing stages.
"It is important to be sharp and be aggressive. (In the) last few days, we are still trying to get good match practice here, play short games and also have a good match practice session so that I am sharp towards the end of the game".
Lakshya finds himself in Group L - arguably the toughest in the men's singles category. The Almora-born has been drawn alongside Jonatan Christie, who is the third seed in the competition.
Lakshya has a 1-4 head-to-head record against Christie. The Indian shuttler has not defeated Christie in their last four meetings.
Lakshya's only win over the Indonesian came at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2020 which was the first meeting between the two. Lakshya is aware of the challenge Christie poses and is doing everything in his capacity to overcome him at the Games.
"The last two to three times we have played, it has been a close encounter. I'll be watching those matches as well, maybe few things (about) what I can do better from the last time and focus on my strength, how I can control the game, how I can play my best," he had said during his media interaction.
Lakshya Sen's draw for Paris Olympics
| Group L |
| Jonatan Christie (3) |
| Lakshya Sen |
| Kevin Cordon |
| Julien Carraggi |
How has Lakshya Sen performed in 2024 so far?
| Tournament | Position |
| Malaysia Open Super 1000 | Lost to WENG Hong Yang in the round of 32 |
| India Open Super 750 | Lost to Priyanshu Rajawat in the round of 32 |
| Indonesia Masters Super 500 | Lost to Anders Antonsen in the round of 16 |
| Badminton Asia Team Championships | Won his quarterfinal match but the Indian men's team lost 2-3 |
| French Open Super 750 | Lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semis |
| All England Open Super 1000 | Lost to Jonatan Christie in the semis |
| Swiss Open Super 300 | Lost the round of 16 fixture to Chia Hao Lee |
| Badminton Asia Championship | Lost the round of 32 match to Shi Yu Qi |
| Thomas Cup | Won his quarterfinal match against Li Shi Feng but the Indian men's team lost 3-1 |
| Singapore Open Super 750 | Lost his round of 32 match to Viktor Axelsen |
| Indonesia Open Super 1000 | Lost his quarterfinal match against Anders Antonsen |
Career achievements in men's singles
| Tournament | Position |
| 2021 BWF World Championships | Bronze |
| 2022 Commonwealth Games | Gold |
