Lakshya Sen
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Fos-sur-Mer isn’t the kind of town you would associate with sports, it's rather industrial and grunge in aesthetic and ideology, but you would forget all about that when you enter the Halles de Sports Parsemain.
It’s a world-class facility in the middle of a hamlet, and this spot - in the same time zone as Paris and away from the drama of Marseille - is where Lakshya Sen is working on Version 2.0.
He doesn’t yet know if he will perfect it in time for the Paris Olympics, but he’s deriving inspiration from the surroundings. After all, that blue-collared resilience is what he has been looking to add to a game that historically relied on defence and speed.
It’s what his coach Vimal Kumar, who is currently with him, wants from him. It’s what Sen desires because that will undoubtedly be the difference between him being an also-ran among giants or becoming a giant himself.
“One of the things I noticed in playing some of the earlier tournaments was that I wasn’t patient,” he tells DH from his hotel room on Friday. “I would rush the rallies and get tangled up. The halls in Europe are slow, meaning the shuttle doesn’t travel as quickly so you can’t end rallies as quickly as you would in India. It's also slower by the sea so we needed to work on that, so we came here. Inevitably this situation means you need more patience. That also means you need to be fitter and have the legs on you to push.
“That has been my focus for the last few months now, fitness,” he adds.
Besides working on his fitness and flexibility, Sen had to get a hang of the speed at which the game is played at the highest level. He’s typically able to take stock and acclimatise, but the last year or so has shown that he has been wrong-footed often, especially at the net.
To alleviate this concern, the wise heads in charge of helping Sen get ready have recalled Yoo Yong Sung, the Korean coach who worked with him in 2022.
Yoo pushes the envelope by adopting a multi-feed method wherein shuttles are struck at a rapid pace in quick succession and the player has to react appropriately and in sync with the service for one mistimed shot means the end of the flow. The idea is to quicken the pace of the practice to a point wherein in-game situations slow down perceivably.
All of this came about because Sen didn’t have the best of seasons last year. He was lagging in the qualification race but managed to turn things around with two semifinal finishes at the All England Championship and the French Open to secure a spot.
"This was quite a good training period. I wanted to play in the Canada Open to break up the training period but I wasn't able to get to it because of some visa issues. So we decided to come here a bit earlier and train," he said.
"It's important to listen to your body during periods like this because you don't want to over-train or under-train. There has to be balance. We're pushing during practice but we're keeping it short so I don't strain myself."
The thing with Sen is that he loves playing quick and he relies on his reflexes to carry him. While one could get away with this approach, it also means the 22-year-old ends up expending far more energy than needed, meaning he’s sputtering as the games enter a tricky phase.
"This is the biggest tournament of my life. I think the competition will be very tough. Everyone will try to bring their A-game. I am also preparing the same way," he said. "But, we can’t work on all things during an Olympic year because there is hardly any time. You have to prioritise and focus on all the things you can see tangible growth in. I am aware of my strengths and I am aware of my weaknesses. The plan is to make the most of my strengths and try to reduce the number of mistakes which arise from my weaknesses.”
"I have to play well consistently in all the matches. As of now. I have experience from the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, a somewhat similar vibe in the tournament and the Village so that helps."
The conversation dives into the territory of sleep, nutrition, rehabilitation after the eight hours he trains every day and so on, but that’s not as gripping as the tone with which Sen assures that he’s ready. “I have a realistic chance of winning a medal,” he says.
He’s fully aware that he will be up against the likes of Indonesian Jonatan Christie, Guatemala's Kevin Cordon and Belgium's Julian Carraggi in Group L, but he doesn’t seem to worry much for Sen is chasing a better version of himself for himself. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not a bad attitude to have before your first appearance at the Olympics.