Indian badminton has made firm strides in recent years with the likes of PV Sindhu landing Olympic medals and K Srikanth and HS Prannoy making their mark at international events.
Now, the young and promising star has firmly emerged on the horizon although he has been on the scene for over four years. He is Lakshya Sen, who is training hard with a 'Lakshya', and the young lad's hard work and perseverance has paid off as he won the Canada Open in style defeating reigning All-England champion Li Shi Feng of China 21-18, 22-20.
It was a badminton masterpiece as Sen fought off the challenge from the wily and experienced Chinese player to clinch his second major international title. With the Paris Olympics lined up next year, Olympic qualification will be hotting up as the year progresses but this win will certainly give a big boost to Sen's confidence.
Can Lakshya Sen keep rising through the ranks?
India will be expecting at least a couple of medals at the Olympics from badminton. Who will bring those medals and what the colour of those medals will be is something we will have to watch out for but if Lakshya makes it to Paris, he will certainly put up a show.
The 21-year-old Almora-born player has been a revelation ever since India won the Thomas Cup in 2022 and is slowly and surely unravelling himself on the international circuit.
With the Chinese having an army of players who will be putting themselves out there in terms of winning medals, Lakshya and Co will be up against it but the young lad has certainly shown that he has the mettle to test the best.
Earlier, with Prannoy winning the Malaysia Masters and Srikanth also performing at the top, Indian men's badminton is shaping up well for the future.
