Lakshya Sen Rehires Olympic Medallist Yoo Yong Sung as Coach: Lakshya Sen had a conversation with his mentor and former All England winner Prakash Padukone following his latest first-round loss at the Indian Open in January. Lakshya was fighting to break out of a form slump that began at the end of 2023, and his hopes of competing in the Olympics in Paris were literally hanging by a thread. “Are you just looking for a place in the Olympics, or are you trying to have a realistic chance of winning a medal?” Padukone questioned at that point.
Lakshya answered, “My goal is to take home a medal.” Thus, Prakash Sir responded, “You must first demonstrate to us your ability to win a tournament.” To make it to the quarterfinals, you don’t have to travel far. Despite not winning a tournament in Europe, I had two excellent weeks filled with victories that gave me more confidence. And after receiving confirmation of my qualification, I realised it was time to step up my training.
That’s when he decided to initiate contact with a known individual. Lakshya, who will be competing in his first Olympics in Paris, has enlisted the help of Yoo Yong Sung, a Korean coach who worked with him in 2022, for the last stretch leading up to the Games.
Yoo won silver medals in men’s doubles at the Olympics twice, and it was because of this that Lakshya and his staff decided to include doubles intensity into Yoo’s singles training regimen.
“Single sequences hold significant value. But doubles training is helpful for quickening the tempo of play, particularly in the closing stages of games. The singles routines can occasionally become monotonous because to their sheer repetition. I get the impression that they like practicing more when the doubles element is included. At the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, instructor Vimal Kumar told The Indian Express, “The pace increases, racket preparation, reflexes, everything is taken care of.”
Lakshya was training with Yoo for many feeds, as Vimal was explaining. Single shuttle training is used in badminton training to simulate regular rallying in a match. In contrast, during multi-feed training, a coach on the other side of the net continuously peppers the athlete with shuttles at a rapid speed, giving them no time to react. Even though it’s not a genuine match simulation, practicing at that speed makes actual match situations appear slower. Yoo’s ability to multifeed at a rapid pace is impressive, as he attacks Lakshya with shuttles while positioned over a desk, initially in the mid-court and subsequently in close proximity.
“I think that coach Yoo’s intensity can help me with my drives and flat game, as well as defence when someone is attacking and how to counter it. There’s also a lot of rapid-fire, precise skill work, similar to tapping on the net. I believe practicing those double exercises improves your singles game and increases your level of awareness. After his workout, Lakshya told The Indian Express, “And primarily, the multi-feed drills are really good, I wanted to add that to my game.”
After the European leg, Lakshya assessed his situation and decided to reach out to Yoo to see if he could work with him for a short period of time. He left Yoo a message and, although there was a small delay in getting back to him, joined the team after the Indonesia Open. “Within a very short time, OGQ made it possible for everyone to be on the same page. Our goal was to fully commit,” Lakshya continued.
The 22-year-old will practice at The Halle des Sports Parsemain in Marseille, France from July 8 to July 21 alongside the Popov brothers, Christo and Toma Junior, who are headed to the Olympics. As sparring partners, Indian shuttlers Kiran George and Ayush Shetty will also be travelling. There are many parallels between the Sens and the Popovs. A comparable age group, brothers who play badminton (Chirag, Lakshya’s brother, is currently the national champion), and fathers who teach them (DK Sen and Thomas Popov).
After Covid’s cancellations, badminton returned, and Lakshya grew quite close to the Popov family, attending back-to-back tournaments in Bali where players lodged in resorts. Since then, discussions on cooperation have taken place, and it was decided that prior to Paris, training in France would be advantageous to everybody involved. Coach Vimal also mentioned that Christov, who will play doubles, will spar for Lakshya, and the Indians will alternate between sparring with Toma Junior, who has qualified in singles.
