Want to emulate Prakash sir's All England feat: Lakshya Sen

India shuttler Lakshya Sen at CI cafe recently. Pic/Bipin Kokate

India shuttler Lakshya Sen, who won a bronze at the World Junior Championships in Canada recently, has revealed that he gets inspired by listening to stories about his coach Prakash Padukone's 1980 All England title. Lakshya wants to emulate his coach by winning the same title in the near future.

"He (Padukone) shares a lot of his playing days memories and how he won the All England Championships. These stories are inspiring and motivating. Winning this tournament apart from an Olympics medal and World Championships is my ultimate goal," said Lakshya, who beat Daniel S Farid 21-9, 21-17 to enter the Tata Open quarter-finals yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lakshya is excited about playing his first Premier Badminton League (PBL) and is looking forward to picking up some tips from Pune7Aces teammates Carolina Marin and Mathias Boe.

"Playing alongside Carolina and Mathias will provide me good exposure," he said. In October, Lakshya, 17, won a silver medal at the Youth Olympics in Argentina after losing to Chinese Li Shifeng in straight games.

Talking about missing out on the gold, he said: "I was in a good shape before the Youth Olympics and had trained hard for two weeks. I was disappointed to lose the semis of the World Championships. At the World Junior Championships, the Thai guy (Kunlavut Vitidsarn) played very well. In the third game, I made four to five mistakes and that cost me the match."

Real test awaits Lakshya: Vimal Kumar
Former chief national coach U Vimal Kumar, who is guiding Lakshya at the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore, said: "Lakshya is progressing well, but his real test starts now. He has already beaten some senior players and that shows he has the potential at the highest level. At the moment, he lacks endurance and strength," said Vimal, who won French Open in 1983 and 1984.

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