Lakshya Sen has been getting stronger and stronger lately. The 20-year-old shuttler had previously finished second in the prestigious All England Championships in March, before helping India win the Tomas Cup in May. Now he has won the men’s singles gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a tough win over Malaysian NG Tze Yong on Monday. Sen fought with a lot of heart after losing the first game in the finals to eventually win the match 19-21, 21-19 and 21-16.
With Sen’s gold medal win, India had two podiums in the men’s singles, with veteran Kidambi Srikanth taking the bronze medal.
“It’s a great feeling to share the stage with Srikanth bhaiya. Winning the CWG gold was one of my dreams as a kid. Today I did it and I feel great,” Lakshya told DailyExpertNews.
“It was one of the tournaments for which I took three to four weeks off. I was preparing for this tournament and next week we have a big tournament coming up. All the matches from the semi-finals, even the final of the team event were very strong “I’ve tried to look at it as one game at a time. There were a lot of setbacks in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The top league lost in the quarter-finals, Srikanth lost in the semi-finals.”
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Speaking of the final, Sen said: “It was very tough in the first game. I had to dig deep. I’m glad I can keep the nerves in the third game.”
The Thomas Cup victory has given Indian badminton a new impulse. “Especially after that tournament, all players are motivated to do well,” he said.
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