Lakshya Sen to get Rs 10 lakh cash reward from BAI

Lakshya Sen to get Rs 10 lakh cash reward from BAI

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Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for young Lakshya Sen, who became only the third Indian to win a gold medal at the Asia Junior Championship in Jakarta. Sen believes he needs to work on his physical strength to take on the big guns in senior circuit.

On Sunday, the 16-year-old from Uttarakhand became only the third Indian to win a gold after he defeated top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-19, 21-18 in the finals in Jakarta. After managing only a bronze last time, Sen completed the task this time and an elated BAI president Himanta Biswa Sharma lauded it.

"Lakshya has done the country proud. We have been investing on youngsters and we are happy seeing the dividends," said Biswa, as quoted by TOI.

On his historic achievement, Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced Rs 10 Lakh cash reward to the youngster. Sen participated in both the team event (July 14-17) and individual event (July 18-22) of the Asia Junior Championships and later revealed that it was physically demanding.

“This Asian Junior gold is precious to me. It was a long tournament, so the focus was on recovering quickly after each match. It was not easy as ahead of the tournament I had to tweak my training a bit as I had suffered a shin splint. During the tournament I had to take pills sometimes to curb the pain,” said Sen as quoted by Scroll.in.

“Once I return to India, I will have to discuss with my coach and see what would be my training sessions. But I know I have to work on my overall physique, need to improve my strength to do well in the senior circuit,” said the trainee of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore.

The youngster was troubled by a shoulder niggle during the end of last year. After missing action for the first three months this year, he made a comeback at Osaka International Challenge in April and played an international series at Indonesia before stretching legendary Lin Dan twice at New Zealand Open and Thomas Cup Final in May.

“It was a dream come true to play Lin Dan but those two matches was a learning experience. I understood where I lacked and what I need to do,” he said.

Former national coach Vimal Kumar, who has groomed Sen, was pleased with his ward’s clever game in the final but said the talented shuttler has to be careful with his body.

“He is growing, suddenly he has gained height and so he is having issues with his shoulder, ankle and shin areas. He missed out a few tournaments. Before leaving for Asia Junior, he couldn’t play for a week because of a shin splint. So considering all that, I am very pleased with his performance,” Vimal said.

“He has started hitting hard but his muscles are still very weak. So he needs to do a lot of strengthening workouts to improve his physique because he is skillful. His shot making and other things are good but to do well against a senior player, he needs to work on his strength,” he said.

Lakshya would next eye medals at the World Junior Championship and Youth Olympics later this year.

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