On 8 March, the night India kept its date with back-to-back T20 World Cup trophies, an elite Indian sportsperson lost out on an opportunity to make it a Super Sunday for Indian sport. Lakshya Sen’s second foray into the All England Badminton final in Birmingham ended in heartbreak (after 2022) as he went down 15-21, 20-22 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin-Chun Yi, but this feat deserves a bigger round of applause.

At 24, the Almora boy has now become only the second Indian to make the final of the prestigious event after Prakash Padukone, who became a winner in 1980 and finished runner-up the following year. There is a heartwarming video clip circulating on social media which shows almost 100-odd young trainees, to whom Lakshya is an idol, extending him a hearty welcome — something which should enable him to draw fresh strength for future pursuits.     

“It has been a good week, but also an emotional one. Having come this close [to winning], I am proud, but getting into the final for a second time and not winning feels disheartening,” Lakshya said during an online interaction on Tuesday.

Commenting on his stirring show as he took down one rival after the other, his coach and mentor Vimal Kumar said: ‘’Lakshya, you have made us all incredibly proud. For me, the determination and resilience you showed today were truly unmatched. It was a physically draining contest of the highest intensity, yet you fought every point with remarkable courage.

‘’To play through the match with a painful blister on your foot, without even being able to get treatment during the break, and still push yourself despite the cramps — that speaks volumes about your fighting spirit."

Lakshya contrasted his experience of playing this final with his previous summit clash in 2022, when he lost 10-21, 15-21 to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. “The first time I reached the All England final, I was dreaming about playing in such a big event and I was simply enjoying the moment and playing without any expectations. But this time around, I had that belief throughout the tournament that I could win it. I was also obviously better prepared this time [in terms of experience], to know what’s coming and how to play in these [high] pressure matches,” he said.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist also reiterated how his gruelling 97-minute semi-final victory against Canada’s Victor Lai (21-16, 18-21, 21-15) where he battled cramps and a bruised finger, left him physically drained for the summit clash.  

“The semi-final took a toll on the body, especially the cramps. It was too hard to get back to 100 per cent for the next day [the final],” Sen said, a view also endorsed by Dronacharya Vimal, who once helped resurrect Saina Nehwal's career.

He also explained how tough it was to get past Lai: “He’s new on the circuit, so people are still trying to read him. He’s quite strong with his defence, he moves across the court very easily, if you have to put the shuttle past him, you need to play one extra shot against him, just to set yourself up for a big [winning] smash.”