India Open 2022: Lakshya Sen eyeing maiden title on debut

The
20-year-old
from
Almora
had
a
good
outing
in
the
last
season
as
he
reached
the
final
of
the
Dutch
Open,
made
it
to
the
semifinals
at
Hylo,
and
then
entered
the
knockout
stage
of
the
World
Tour
Finals
on
debut.
However,
the
icing
on
the
cake
was
his
bronze
at
the
World
Championships,
which
helped
him
to
emulate
his
mentor
Prakash
Padukone
and
compatriot
B
Sai
Praneeth.

“This
is
the
first
time
I
will
be
playing
the
India
Open
as
the
last
two
editions
were
cancelled
due
to
the
pandemic.
So
I
am
looking
forward
to
making
the
most
of
this
opportunity
and
winning
the
title,”
Sen
told
PTI
after
arriving
in
the
national
capital.

“I
had
a
10-day
break
after
the
world
championships
and
started
training
from
January
1st.
I
had
some
niggles
but
now
I
am
back
to
full
fitness.”

Walking
down
memory
lane,
Sen
while
talking
about
the
time
when
he
would
come
as
a
fan
to
watch
greats
such
as
Lin
Dan
and
Taufik
Hidatay
compete
in
the
tournament.

“I
remember
coming
to
India
Open
as
a
10-year-old
in
2011-12.
I
was
inspired
a
lot
by
Lin
Dan
and
Taufik
Hidayat.
I
have
always
loved
Taufik’s
game,
it
influences
me
a
lot.”
Sen
will
open
his
campaign
against
Egypt’s
Adham
Hatem
Elgamal
and
a
win
will
pit
him
against
Sweden’s
Felix
Burestedt
in
the
next
round.

“I
have
a
good
draw.
In
the
first
round,
I
am
playing
a
player
from
Egypt
and
in
the
next
round,
it
will
be
Felix.
I
had
trained
with
him
in
Dubai.
“I
will
take
one
match
at
a
time
and
the
way
I
am
playing,
I
am
confident
of
winning
the
tournament.”

The
year
will
be
a
hectic
one
with
big-ticket
events
such
as
the
Commonwealth
Games
and
Asian
Games
lined
up,
apart
from
the
regular
BWF
World
Tour
events.
Sen
said
his
entire
focus
will
be
to
stay
injury-free
and
peak
at
the
right
time.

“It
is
an
important
year
as
there
are
lots
of
important
tournaments
lined
up.
I
have
to
come
up
with
a
proper
training
plan
ahead
of
these
important
events,
also
pick
and
choose
events,”
world
number
17
said.

“I
have
to
perform
well
so
that
I
can
qualify
for
important
events.
So
the
focus
will
be
on
staying
injury-free
and
peaking
at
the
right
moment.”
Organised
by
the
Badminton
Association
of
India
(BAI),
the
India
Open
is
all
set
to
kick
off
on
Tuesday
at
the
Indira
Gandhi
Stadium’s
KD
Jadhav
Indoor
Hall.
Most
players
have
started
arriving
in
the
capital
for
the
tournament.
“All
the
participating
players
will
be
taking
the
necessary
safety
precautions
right
from
their
arrival
in
New
Delhi
as
per
protocol,
and
will
be
tested
everyday
at
the
hotel
and
from
there
they
will
be
having
shuttle
buses
to
come
to
the
stadium,
play
matches
and
go
back
to
the
hotel
again,”
the
BAI
said
in
a
release.