India’s rising tennis star Lakshya Sen insists reaching the All England Open Championships final has given him the confidence that he can take on the top players but said he will need to work on his fitness going into the upcoming tournaments.
Lakshya, 20, from Almora, Uttarakhand finished runner-up in the final after losing to Danish World No.1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen 10-21, 15-21 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Sunday.
Last December, Lakshya secured his maiden world championships bronze in December, before winning his first Super 500 title at India Open in January and finishing runner-up at the German Open last week.
He credited his transformation to the experience of playing in the World Championships last year, where he lost to compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in the semi-finals. He also said the hard work he put in to improve his fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic helped.
"I had a lot of time in pandemic where I could improve my fitness. As a junior player, I would go on attack and play smashes all the time but, in big venues, you need to play a patient game and build on those winners and then attack," Lakshya said during a virtual interaction on Tuesday.
"I played a lot of tournaments after the pandemic, especially in Indonesia and World championships and it gave me the self-belief and realisation that I can't go for attack all the time and have to play a patient game and the transformation happened there. Those matches against Viktor (Axelsen), (Japan’s) Kento Momota and Kenta Tsukamoto, also gave me the confidence. A lot has changed since I played Viktor in 2020. There is a difference in my approach and now I have the self-belief to go out there and beat the big players."
The silver medal helped Lakshya achieve his career-best ranking of World No.9 and he said it is always at the back if his mind as it gets him a good draw in world tour events.
"I have to keep the ranking in mind because it will help me to qualify for big events like the Olympics and I also have to keep myself fit going into big events. This World No.9 ranking will also help me with the draws and I will not have to play any top player till quarters, so I am focussed on winning tournaments."
Lakshya is aware that in coming events his opponents will scrutinise his game, but the shuttler said he is enjoying all the attention that he is getting and is confident that his team will be there to guide him. "Yes, when people are talking about me and at the same time when you are playing in the circuit, players look out for you, and they read my game and I think I am happy that all these things are happening. There has been a lot of changes, I have a strong team around me and lot of people I can talk to and people to guide me. I am always learning," he concluded.
