On the cusp of history, Lakshya backs his mental strength to take him through

Badminton was included in the Olympics in 1992 and no single Indian male shuttler managed to reach the semi-finals until prodigious shuttler Lakshya Sen defeated Chou Tien Chen yesterday.

Lakshya's win would mean that he became the first-ever Indian male shuttler to enter the semi-finals and will face Viktor Axelsen in a historic game on Sunday.

Olympic dream realized after hiccups

"I am looking forward to playing my first Olympics as a kid I have dreamt of playing such events and as of now I am focused on playing in the Olympics," Lakshya told The Bridge weeks before flying to realize his childhood dream.

However, the childhood dream didn't come easy for the youngster from Almora, Uttarakhand.

After the Paris Olympic qualification period started in May 2023, Lakshya was having a torrid run on the circuit. He was ranked 23rd in the BWF world rankings behind HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth.

Till then, he hadn't reached any semi-finals and was getting knocked out in the first or second round of the BWF tournaments.

In April 2023, Lakshya took a break to focus on his mental and physical health.

After coming back from the break, he started improving and within three months, won Canada Open Super 500 tournament. One week later, he reached the semi-final of the US Open Super 500.

His ranking also had improved by then and he was ranked world number 11 in October 2023 in the BWF Rankings.

Talking about the rollercoaster 2023, Lakshya said, "I think the last year has been full of ups and downs with challenges, qualification was an added pressure, I am happy with the way I played and managed to get the qualification."

He cited that break from Badmointon as one of the important factors for him.

"I think having a break is necessary for the athletes to recover. I improved on training and focused on increasing my stamina," he explained.

In the build-up Paris Olympics, Lakshya had two really good results that solidified his qualification for the Olympics. He reached the semi-final of the All England Badminton Open and lost to Jonatan Christe.

He reached the semi-final of the French Open Super 750 tournament and lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn there. However, the losses meant nothing as Lakshya had booked his place for the quadrennial event.

Mental Strength is the ultimate game

In high-intensity pressure situations and especially on the stage like the Olympics, the difference between winners and losers is the mentality.

"I think when I am on court, I need to focus on my game. Despite how the match is going, my focus is completely on the next point that is going to come," said Lakshya.

He displayed the same mentality in the semi-final to come back from one game down against an experienced opponent.

Chou Tien Chen was on fire with his incredible coverage of court and instinctive returns but despite losing the first game, Lakshya upped the ante in the last games and gave Chou no chance.

Lakshya Sen has already created history by becoming the first-ever Indian male shuttler to reach the semi-final at the Olympics.

Tomorrow, he stands at the cusp of history and Danish shuttler Viktor Axelsen will be standing in between him and the history. All it will take to make a difference is the mentality.