# Lakshya Sen

Lakshya Sen (born 16 August 2001) is an Indian badminton player. He's a former World Junior No. 1. Sen is a bronze medalist at the World Championships, a gold medalist at the Thomas Cup, a silver medalist at the Asian Games and a gold and silver medalist at the Commonwealth Games. He has also won bronze medals at the Asia Team and Asia Mixed Team Championships. Sen won the Canada Open and was the runner-up at the All England Open. At the junior level, he has won a gold and silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games, a bronze medal at World Junior Championships and a gold and bronze medal at Asia Junior Championships.

## Early life

Sen was born on 16 August 2001 to Nirmala and Dhirendra Sen in the Almora district of Uttarakhand. They shifted to Bangalore for the sake of his badminton career. Sen is a third generation shuttler from his family. His grandfather Chandra Lal Sen and his father were badminton players. His elder brother Chirag Sen is also a professional shuttler.

## Career
### Early steps (2009)

Sen was about ten years old when he walked into Vimal Kumar's office at the Karnataka Badminton Association in Bengaluru, stood on his toes to reach the table and gave him a handwritten note with scoreline details. He wanted to join the academy to get better at badminton to beat his opponents.

### Junior level tournaments (2016)

Having trained at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Sen showed his talent as a badminton player at a young age. In 2014, he won the Swiss Junior International. He also had a brilliant year in the 2016 junior badminton circuit. He won the bronze medal at the Junior Asian Championship after losing to Sun Feixiang 12–21, 16–21. Coincidently, Sen lost to Sun again in the pre-quarters of Junior World Championship 21–17, 8–21 and 13–21. His team finished 8th in the team event. Sen then competed at the senior international level and won the 2016 India International Series tournament title.

### World junior #1 (2017)

Sen started off at Syed Modi International where he lost in pre-quarters to compatriot Sourabh Verma 14–21, 16–21. He then became the number one junior singles player in BWF World Junior ranking in February 2017. At the Junior Asian Championship, Sen was seeded as No.1 but lost in the pre-quarters to Lin Chun-yi 21–13, 23–25 and 20–22. Sen reached the Quarter-finals of Vietnam Open before losing to Kodai Naraoka 21–17, 21–23 and 10–21. Sen was then seeded as No. 2 at the Junior World Championship but in the quarter-finals, he lost to Kodai Naraoka 21–14, 17–21, 14–21.

### Asian Junior Champion and Youth Olympics medalist (2018)

Sen defeated Cheam June Wei, a much higher ranked player than him 21–11, 21–16 in straight games at the New Zealand Open but lost to 2 time Olympic gold medallist and seed No.1 Lin Dan 21–15, 15–21 and 12–21. At the Australian Open. He lost to seed No.7 Lee Cheuk Yiu 20–22, 21–13 and 19–21. Sen emerged as the champion at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships defeating the top seeded World Junior No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final 21–19, 21–18.
At the Hyderabad Open, Sen lost to seed No. 8 Heo Kwang-hee 13–21 and 12–21. Sen defeated seed No.2 Sitthikom Thammasin 21–14, 21–19 at the 2018 Indonesia Masters but lost to seed No.7 Lin Yu-hsien 21–12, 20–21 and 14–21 in the Quarter-finals.
Sen participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics as the fourth seeded. He settled for the silver medal in the boys' singles after losing to Chinese player Li Shifeng in straight games 15–21, 19–21. He also competed in the mixed team event, and helped team Alpha win the gold medal.
Sen clinched the bronze medal at the BWF Junior World Championships after losing to the eventual champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals 22–20, 16–21, 13–21.

### Back-to-back tour titles (2019–2021)

Sen won the 2019 Belgian International tournament by beating Victor Svendsen 21–14 and 21–15. He clinched his first BWF Tour title by winning the Dutch Open title after beating Yusuke Onodera of Japan. In November, he won the Hylo Open held in Saarbrücken, Germany. He defeated China's Weng Hongyang to claim the title. He won the 2019 Scottish Open next, with a victory against Brazilian Ygor Coelho.
Sen was a member of the Indian team which clinched the bronze at 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships. He reached the 2nd round of 2020 All England Open, his 1st ever BWF Super 1000 Tournament before losing to champion and world No.1 Viktor Axelsen 17–21 and 18–21. He lost to Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–15, 7–21 and 15–21 in 2nd round of the 2020 Denmark Open. Sen was seeded as No.2 at 2020 Hylo Open but withdrew due to an injury. The Covid-19 pandemic restricted him from playing more international BWF tournaments that year.
In December, he reached the semifinal of the 2021 World Championships where he lost to compatriot Srikanth Kidambi in a hard-fought match 21–17, 14–21, 17–21 and settled for a bronze medal during the edition.

### Thomas Cup victory and Commonwealth gold (2022)

In January, he defeated the reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew in the India Open final, thus clinching his first Super 500 title. Sen defeated him in two straight games 24–22, 21–17. In the German Open, Lakshya defeated World No.1 Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals, but lost the finals to Kunlavut Vitidsarn. He then defeated World No. 3 Anders Antonsen and World No. 7 Lee Zii Jia to reach the finals of the 2022 All England Open. He lost the finals to Viktor Axelsen 10–21, 15–21. He subsequently withdrew from the Swiss Open, as he was tired after playing 2 back-to-back BWF tournaments finals. Lakshya Sen was part of the Indian men's team for 2022 Thomas Cup. The team went on to win the Thomas Cup by beating Indonesia 3–0, with Sen winning his match against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. He became the Commonwealth champion at the 2022 Commonwealth Games by defeating Ng Tze Yong of Malaysia in the final. Sen was also part of the Indian team that won the silver medal in the mixed team event.

### Canada Open title and Asian Games silver (2023)

In February, Lakshya Sen was a member of the Indian team that clinched the bronze medal at Asia Mixed Team Championships.
On 9 July, Lakshya Sen defeated China's Li Shifeng in straight sets 21-18, 22-20 in the finals and won the 2023 Canada Open in Calgary, Canada. Sen was part of the Indian team which won a silver medal in the men's team event at 2022 Asian Games.

### 4th at Paris Olympics (2024)

Sen participated in the Olympic Games held in Paris. He defeated third seeded Jonatan Christie in the group stage and progressed to the knockout stage. After winning against his compatriot Prannoy H. S. in the round of 16, he defeated Chou Tien-chen in the quarter finals. However he was stopped by the second seeded Viktor Axelsen in the semifinal stage. He finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Lee Zii Jia, scripting the best ever performance by a male badminton player from India. Post his journey at the Olympics, Sen won the S300 title of Syed Modi International by defeating Singaporean Jason Teh 21-6, 21-7 in a dominating match. He ended the year by winning the bronze medal at the inaugural Kings Cup hosted by icon Lin Dan.

### (2025)

At the 2025 All England Open, he started off with a tricky win against Su Li-yang. He carrier the momentum forward in the next round where he faced defending champion Jonatan Christie. Sen showed skill and won the match in straight sets with a dominant scoreline of 21–13, 21–10.

## Coaching

Vimal Kumar is his coach while former player Prakash Padukone is his mentor. For brief periods of time, Sen has been coached by Yoo Yong-sung. He has also undergone training stints under Morten Frost and Peter Gade. His conditioning coach is Paddy Upton. In addition to his training sessions, Sen takes on ice baths, steam and sauna, and joint mobilisation work routines.

## Achievements
### World Championships

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2021 | Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain | Srikanth Kidambi | 21–17, 14–21, 17–21 | Bronze |

### Commonwealth Games

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2022 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England | Ng Tze Yong | 19–21, 21–9, 21–16 | Gold |

### Youth Olympic Games

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Li Shifeng | 15–21, 19–21 | Silver |

### World Junior Championships

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Markham Pan Am Centre, Markham, Canada | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 22–20, 16–21, 13–21 | Bronze |

### Asia Junior Championships

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2016 | CPB Badminton Training Center, Bangkok, Thailand | Sun Feixiang | 12–21, 16–21 | Bronze |
| 2018 | Jaya Raya Sports Hall Training Center, Jakarta, Indonesia | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 21–19, 21–18 | Gold |

### World Tour (5 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018. It's a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation. The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2019 | Dutch Open | Super 100 | Yusuke Onodera | 15–21, 21–14, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2019 | Hylo Open | Super 100 | Weng Hongyang | 17–21, 21–18, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2022 | India Open | Super 500 | Loh Kean Yew | 24–22, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2022 | German Open | Super 300 | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 18–21, 15–21 | Runner–up |
| 2022 | All England Open | Super 1000 | Viktor Axelsen | 10–21, 15–21 | Runner–up |
| 2023 | Canada Open | Super 500 | Li Shifeng | 21–18, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2024 | Syed Modi International | Super 300 | Jason Teh | 21–6, 21–7 | Winner |

### International Challenge / Series (7 titles, 3 runners-up)

Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2016 | India International Series | Lee Zii Jia | 11–13, 11–3, 11–6 | Winner |
| 2017 | Bulgarian Open | Zvonimir Đurkinjak | 18–21, 21–12, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2017 | India International Series | Chong Yee Han | 21–15, 17–21, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2017 | India International Challenge | Sitthikom Thammasin | 21–15, 14–21, 19–21 | Runner–up |
| 2018 | India International Challenge | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 21–15, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2019 | Polish Open | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 17–21, 14–21 | Runner–up |
| 2019 | Belgian International | Victor Svendsen | 21–14, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2019 | Scottish Open | Ygor Coelho | 18–21, 21–18, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2019 | Bangladesh International | Leong Jun Hao | 22–20, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2021 | Dutch Open | Loh Kean Yew | 12–21, 16–21 | Runner–up |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament
    BWF Future Series tournament

### Junior International (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Boys' singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2014 | Swiss Junior International | B. M. Rahul Bharadwaj | 11–5, 11–6, 6–11, 11–6 | Winner |
| 2015 | India Junior International | Chirag Sen | 21–18, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2017 | German Junior International | Lee Chia-hao | 21–19, 11–21, 18–21 | Runner–up |
    BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
    BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
    BWF Junior International Series tournament
    BWF Junior Future Series tournament

## Record against opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 23 April 2024.
| Player | Matches | Win | Lost | Diff. |
| Lin Dan | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Shi Yuqi | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Zhao Junpeng | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Chou Tien-chen | 2 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| Viktor Axelsen | 7 | 1 | 6 | –5 |
| Anders Antonsen | 5 | 2 | 3 | –1 |
| Hans-Kristian Vittinghus | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Kevin Cordón | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Srikanth Kidambi | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Parupalli Kashyap | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Player | Matches | Win | Lost | Diff. |
| Prannoy H. S. | 7 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Anthony Sinisuka Ginting | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Kento Momota | 3 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| Kodai Naraoka | 6 | 2 | 4 | –2 |
| Loh Kean Yew | 9 | 6 | 3 | +3 |
| Heo Kwang-hee | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Son Wan-ho | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 11 | 4 | 7 | –3 |
| Kantaphon Wangcharoen | 6 | 4 | 2 | +2 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2019 | Indian Sports Honours | Emerging Sportsman of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Arjuna Award | Outstanding Performance in Sports | Won |
| 2023 | Sportstar Awards | Sportsman of the Year Racquet Sports | Won |
| 2023 | Times of India Sports Awards | Singles Player of the Year Male | Nominated |
| 2023 | Indian Sports Honours | Emerging Sportsman of the Year | Won |
| 2023 | Indian Sports Honours | Electrifying Performance of the Year | Nominated |
| 2025 | Times of India Sports Awards | Badminton Player of the Year Male | TBA |