Lakshya Sen is an Underdog in a Fair Olympics Draw, According to Coach Vimal

According to his coach Vimal Kumar, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen was given a "fair" draw for his Olympic debut in Paris. Vimal thinks that while Sen is presently ranked 19th in the world, he may play freely because of his recent technical advancements and "underdog" position. Sen faces tough competition on his route to an Olympic medal, including Group L opponents Julian Carraggi of Belgium, Kevin Cordon of Guatemala (a surprise semifinalist at the past Olympics), and Indonesian Jonatan Christie. Sen is presently training in Marseille, France, ahead of the Paris Olympics. "I think it (the draw) is very fair, I feel it is a very reasonable draw for him," Vimal, a former India coach, told PTI. He has fallen short against Jonatan Christie in close games on a few occasions. The contest is tied 50/50. To advance to the second level, you must convert (chances). Lakshya, in my perspective, has nothing to lose. He can play much more freely since he will be the underdog," he declared.

Sen was characterized by Vimal as a "big-match player," and the Indonesian coach expressed faith in Sen's potential to defeat Christie, a previous Asian Games winner and member of the 2022 Thomas Cup-winning squad. In the last minutes, Sen focused on maintaining his composure and front-court awareness. His goal is to be the first male Indian shuttler to place on the Olympic podium when he is 22 years old. Saina Nehwal (bronze in 2012, London) and P V Sindhu (silver in 2016, Rio de Janeiro, and bronze in 2020, Tokyo) are the two Indian badminton players with Olympic medals. "The last group match is Jonatan, and Lakshya should prevail. I therefore see a lot of advantages. It was disappointing not to be able to attend the Canada Open, but he overcame that. It will benefit him to be away here under similar situations," Vimal said, alluding to Sen's nonattendance at the Canada Open owing to visa complications.

Yoo Yong-Sung, a two-time Olympic silver medallist in men's doubles from Korea, was invited back to help Sen prepare by honing his net technique, accelerating his on-court pace, and sharpening his attention during crucial times. Sen and Yoo Yong-Sung have collaborated before in 2022. "We've increased the tempo toward specific moments by introducing a lot of double drills and speed training in the final phases. Yoo Yong-Sung has been assisting us with such drills for the past three weeks, according to Vimal. Sen has also been honing a variety of customer service skills. "Basically, the idea is to increase the intensity of the routines." We have some routines that are primarily targeted at single people. Sen worked on recovering and other things on those flat exchanges. Sen focused on recovering, approaching the net, and being somewhat more vigilant at the net, among other flat exchanges", according to Vimal.

Sen has been working out in Fos-sur-Mer's Halles des Sports Parsemain, which is located around 45 minutes from Marseille's downtown. He is practicing for the Olympics with the Christo and Toma Junior Popov brothers, as well as Indian shuttlers Kiran George and Ayush Shetty, till July 21. He needs that little bit of match practice, therefore we will be doing one set of tournament practice next week. It was nice to have him visit Canada. I want to observe how he is using what he learned the next week. It will be a terrific test against both Popov brothers. So that I may evaluate him. We're not going to get to play much after he gets inside the village in Paris. Our practice time in the big arena will be restricted," Vimal stated.