‘Niggles, injury issues’: Lakshya Sen carries on with strong mind & fragile body

Lakshya Sen can be fragile. Lakshya Sen can be fabulous. Both are accurate, and on some days, they coexist in the same match. India's top men's singles shuttler was in top shape at the All England. But subsequently, eight first-round exits, a loss to an out-of-Top-100 opponent at the World Championships, and coasting past World No.6 Jonatan Christie on Sunday, the inconsistent enigma has finally won a Super 500 title.

On his best days like when in Germany on Sunday, he is left explaining his worst moments. “There were niggles, injury issues, nothing major to miss out on big events, but…,” he proffers, “some matches I wasn’t 100 percent.” He reiterates the intangibles – he needs to listen to his body, feel confident, not rush and play every event.

For outside that indestructible, nonchalant mind is a fragile body that's always one big injury away from threatening his career. “Not everyone understands Lakshya's problem, even the media and his fans,” father DK Sen laments.

“Even small issues can be big obstacles to peak performance. Spasms, back pain, shoulder stiffness — he lives in constant fear of aggravating injuries and has to work around that.” Sen's playing style is so demanding on the spine – with the back and shoulder in perennial peril – that small issues or departures from a regular movement can blow up into big trouble.

ALSO READ | Lakshya Sen ends title drought, thrashing Jonatan Christie to win Hylo Open “You can't say how his body will react, because nobody can control injuries. The player knows best, and even the doctor knows only if the player can articulate it,” Sen Sr explains the turmoil of not knowing how much to push in training and how to shrug away the dread of injury.

Consistency – the clamour of fans – doesn't fit into this chaos. Can he focus exclusively on one or two titles? Even that is fraught. Of course he wants to win titles, because two All England finals were not deemed good enough, though he poured his guts out.

“I want to target being injury-free,” he says, an uber-confident man, back from a title win, sticking to caution rather than ambitious goal-setting. “Of course I want to compete, win titles. But competition is very tough.

So I plan to go deep into tournaments when I feel fit, continue routines, enjoy it on and off court and see how far it goes rather than think of results.” “It's just a smash after all. (Round-the-head cross-court) was one of my weapons when young.

Came naturally. But now after video analysis, I don't use it much.” Sen wiped out Jojo Christie with an attacking catapult smash that stems from the elbow, not shoulder. “At this stage, I just want to keep performing. There's a lot of pressure performing for the country.

But I don't think about it when playing or I will get affected. Focus on finishing and winning.” Elite badminton is too tiring and punishing to be joyous. Always being on the edge is a tough way to go about it, but Sen wasn't offered a buffet with choices.

His fragility dictates ferocity, in inverse proportion. At the Delhi Worlds, he was low on match-practice and botched a home opportunity. This last week, he enjoyed playing five solid days on the trot. Now he heads to Japan after a week's rest.

Ask coach Vimal Kumar if the weight of expectations will lift. “I didn't realise he was managing a niggle at the World Championships. The Hylo win (on Sunday) was much needed. But I expect a lot more. Lakshya plays better- ranked players better than most.

He just knows how to beat them. Against unknown ones, he gets into one of his moods,” he says. Fear of losing, perhaps, kicks in quicker. It's fragility and ferocity in the same body and mind. That's the way Sen is built; the courage is in embracing inconsistency while waiting for that one win that will be incredible.

Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely... Read More