Ultimate Lakshya: Olympics, All England

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinches gold after beating Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsaran Badminton Asia Junior Championships finals, in Jakarta on Sunday, July 22, 2018. Pic/PTI

Teenager Lakshya Sen created history yesterday by winning the Asia Junior Badminton Championships in Jakarta - becoming the first Indian male to do so since the late Gautam Thakkar achieved the feat way back in 1965. India's top female shuttler PV Sindhu also won the title in 2012.

The title means the world to Lakshya, who recently emerged from a shoulder injury and also suffered a shin splint en route to clinching this gold in Indonesia. "Going into this tournament, my aim was to try my best. I wanted to win this one. The tournament had some of the world's best players, so this is a very precious win," Lakshya told mid-day from Jakarta yesterday. The sixth seeded Indian first shocked No. 2 seed Li Shifeng of China 21-14, 21-12 to set up a semi-final with fourth seeded Indonesian Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay whom he beat 21-7, 21-14. In the summit clash, Lakshya upset reigning world junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-19, 21-18.

Lakshya, 16, is known to be shy both on and off the court and is rarely animated even while celebrating the toughest of points. But he has an aggressive thought process. Be it plotting the opponent's downfall or charting his own career graph, he is crystal clear in his planning and that's what got him glory in Indonesia. "Asia is the hub of world badminton, so each and every match that I played here was tough. I had to prepare well and had to work out different strategies for different opponents," he said. Next up for the junior champ is the youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this October followed by the World Junior Championship in Ontario, Canada in November.

However, the focus on the senior circuit is top priority now. "My ultimate dream is to win the Olympics and major titles like the All England and the World Championships. But to succeed consistently on the senior circuit, I have to build strength and power and that is something I'm focussing on with my coaches at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore."

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