New Delhi, March 10 — India’s Lakshya Sen said the growing physical demands of men’s singles badminton have forced him to rethink recovery and training after he finished runner-up to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-yi at the All England Championships in Birmingham. The 24-year-old from Almora described the week as both a strong performance and an emotional test after falling short in his second All England final.
“It’s been a good week overall, but also an emotional week. Getting into the finals for the second time and not winning, it feels a little bit disheartened after the match,” Lakshya said, while noting he could still take positives from the run. He battled through several long encounters, spending more than five hours on court during the event, including a gruelling semifinal in which he suffered severe cramps before narrowly losing in the final.
The experience underlined for Lakshya the need to balance a heavy tournament schedule with planned recovery and structured training blocks. “It has been very physical in the matches and tournaments and also with the age — I’m not 20 anymore to recover as fast as I am,” he said, acknowledging that workload management has become crucial as the calendar grows busier.
Lakshya also pointed to a history of shoulder problems that affected his attacking game and forced him to be more cautious about how often he competes. “Over time, you are cautious about how much you can push, how many matches you can play and then you have to give it rest,” he said. He added that he is increasingly prioritising recovery techniques between tournaments to stay injury-free and come back stronger.
With the Asian Championships and the World Championships among his main targets this season, Lakshya said he and his team will closely analyse the All England campaign and recent training to make targeted improvements. “Then I will try to sharpen things especially on court and also focus on staying fit throughout the season because there are lots of major events coming,” he said, adding that they will identify training weeks to boost fitness while allowing adequate rest.
Lakshya credited mental trainer Mon Brockman with helping him handle pressure more clearly. Compared with his first All England final appearance in 2022, he said his mindset this time was more composed and goal-oriented. “The first time I was probably still dreaming that whole week… I was enjoying and playing without any expectation. But this time I was better prepared to know what is coming and how to play in these pressure matches,” he said, adding he believed he could win throughout the tournament.
He also reflected on a difficult period after the Paris Olympics, when injuries and emotional strain saw him slip out of the top 10 in the world rankings. Lakshya noted he regained momentum by winning the Australia Open Super 500 last year and is focused on sustaining that form across the season’s big events. (PTI)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/03/11/disheartened-lakshya-shifts-focus-to-recovery-major-events/
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Publish Date: 2026-03-11 05:16:00
