Lakshya Sen reveals reason for his form slump

Lakshya Sen, who had been going through a very visible slump in form till his turnaround this month in Indonesia and Thailand, said that he has been struggling after he underwent nose surgery for a deviated septum after the World Championships last August.

The surgery was followed by frequent illness and allergies for over eight months, Lakshya explained.

“I had surgery for a deviated septum; it led to a lot of allergies and stomach upsets. Basically, the immunity was down for quite some time. And then it took a long time with the medication, maybe another three months, to get back,” he told BWF.

“Recovery was not really good. Whenever I was into training, I was getting injured or sick. Then I had to take a step back for a bit, because for the first two months, I didn’t have any idea that it could be this serious. I made a lot of changes in my food, and also in the training load," he added.

It was during this time that Lakshya fared poorly in a string of tournaments, also dropping out of the top 10 in men's singles rankings.

He was knocked out in the first round in three of the last four events of 2022. In 2023 too, the only tournament he has reached the last four of remains the Thailand Open earlier this month.

Currently world rank 18, Lakshya is now looking to make up for lost time as he looks he seal his spot as the second-best ranked Indian in men's singles for the race to the Paris Olympics. He will next be seen in action in the North American lef of the BWF World Tour from next week.