Lakshya Sen became the third Indian to win the Badminton Asia Junior Championships after defeating top seed and reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final in Jakarta on Sunday.
Sen is the third Indian after Gautam Thakker (1965) and PV Sindhu to win the Gold medal at the continental championships. Sen registered a 21-19, 21-18 win against Thailand's Vitidsarn in the final.
"I am happy to win the tournament. It will boost my confidence. I played in the team event and then in the individual event, so it was a long tournament. The focus was on recovering well after each match and I am happy I could play well and win," Lakshya told PTI after the final.
"It was very hectic. In fact, ahead of the tournament I had to tweak my training a bit as I had suffered a shin split. During the tournament also I had to take pills sometimes to curb the pain," he said.
"Overall, it was a good tournament. I have played all these top players before, so I knew their game."
Sen, seeded sixth, advanced to the final after defeating home favourite ILI Rumbay 21-7, 21-14 in the semi-finals on Saturday. The prestigious title has been won by the likes of Taufik Hidayat (1997), Lin Dan (2000) and Chen Long (2007) in the past. All three of them later won Gold at the Olympics too.
In recent times, the title has been won by Japan's Kento Momota (2012) and Shi Yuqi (2014), both of whom are currently ranked in the top 10 in the world rankings.
In February 2017, Sen had become the third Indian male player after Aditya Joshi and Siril Varma to be ranked world no. one in the junior world rankings.He had also won a bronze in the junior Asian Championships in 2016.
Son of a badminton coach at Sports Authority of India (SAI) and with an older sibling, Chirag, who also plays the sport, badminton was always meant to happen to Lakshya. His earliest initiation to the sport, though, was tagging alongside his grandfather for club matches back in his hometown Almora in Uttarakhand. In 2010, when Chirag was brought to Bengaluru to be inducted into the Padukone academy, Lakshya insisted on staying back too.
Former Indian player Sayyali Gokhali, who has seen Lakshya grow from an eight-year-old who'd bawl on court after every defeat, into a 15-year-old with a hint of facial hair and a steely might, told ESPN last year, "What sets him apart is being a fast learner and also maturity beyond his years. Even in tricky match situations Lakshya is calm and can think on his feet."
Lakshya and Sayyali have worked out a way to keep him motivated during low points in a match. "I call out his strengths as pep talk - that he's got his serve going or his defense is steady, in adverse match situations. From his body language - shoulders drooping, eyes downcast I'd know it's time to bring it on. It works well too."
India's junior national coach Sanjay Mishra complimented Sen's display, saying, "Winning any tournament is a big thing and he has clinched the gold in a tournament where the best of world compete. We know Asia is the hub of badminton and winning the Asia title will give him a big boost."
"The Thai player was playing more of a rally game and he was getting points, so we decided to change the strategy and finish it quick. It helped as Lakshya started dominating the proceedings," he added.