Lakshya Sen keeps his cool to keep Olympics campaign on track
He has the ability to stay calm under big moments, Paddy Upton says
Dubai: Staying calm when things are not going your way is important for success. Indian badminton ace Lakshya Sen is doing just that to overcome the disappointment of having the earlier win removed in the Paris Olympics badminton on Monday.
Sen defeated Julien Carraggi of Belgium in the Group L men’s singles badminton match in straight sets, winning 21-19, 21-14 in 43 minutes at the La Chapelle Arena.
Lakshya turned over a four-point deficit to clinch the first game, and was in full command in the second over Carraggi.
On Sunday, Lakshya’s dominating win over Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon in the badminton men’s singles Group L match was “deleted” after the Guatemalan pulled out of the multi-sport event due to a left elbow injury.
According to Olympics.com, Cordon withdrew himself from the ongoing Paris Olympics for which his upcoming Group L matches against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie and Carraggi will not be played.
As per the BWF General Competition Regulations for group stage play, the result from the match between Sen and Cordon was deleted.
'Lot of potential'
The Indian shuttler will be ranked based on the results of his remaining two matches in Group L. On Saturday, Lakshya defeated Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20. Lakshya won in straight sets with the match lasting 42 minutes.
“I’ve been working with Lakshya since the beginning of the year. And he is someone who obviously shows a lot of potential and has got a very solid game. He’s someone who tends to be able to remain focused and calm under the big moments, which is really important. Obviously, he’s relatively young as this is his first Olympics, but he certainly got all the tactical, technical and mental attributes to be able to go a long way,” South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton told Gulf News. “He’s not someone who overcomplicates things. It’s only when you’re on the biggest stage, somebody really get exposed in terms of handling pressure and remain focused during those big moments. We have spent a lot preparing him for those big moments against the big players, which is required if you have to go on to win medals at the Olympics.”
The Indian shuttler got off to a flying start after winning the first game 21-8 in 14 minutes. Cordon pulled things back, taking a commanding lead in the second and had four game points. However, the 22-year-old Indian turned things around by winning six points in a row to wrap up the game and match.
India’s campaign in women’s doubles badminton at the Paris Olympics 2024 came under serious trouble as the pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa were defeated by the world No 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan on Monday.
Crasto and Ponnappa lost 11-21, 12-21 in a one-sided second Group C clash. Earlier, the Indian duo had lost the opener also by straight sets against Korea’s Kim So-Yeong and Kong Hee-Yong, who won the match 21-18, 21-10 in 46 minutes.
— With inputs from agencies