New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Lakshya Sen is back among the best in world badminton, with a sharp reduction in unforced errors and greater composure in pressure situations helping him regain consistency, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar.
Lakshya capped an impressive week on the BWF Tour by clinching his second consecutive title, defeating home favourite Koki Watanabe in a thrilling final to win the Kumamoto Masters Japan on Sunday.
"If you ask me, the main thing is, cutting down on unforced errors and that has really helped him, I feel he's back amongst the best now. It is two back-to-back titles. It reminds me of the 2021-22 phase, when he was winning tournaments and putting up consistent performances. Hopefully, this trend can continue," Vimal told PTI.
"It is tough because they are all of a similar level, and whoever plays well at the crucial stages, makes the minimum number of unforced errors and keeps mistakes down, succeeds. If you look at it, everybody has speed and punch. So, it is about the errors. Cutting down on those will make all the difference."
Lakshya was 12th in the Race to Finals standings with 64,980 points before this event and needed to break into the top eight to qualify for the season-ending event.
The title at the Super 500 event earned Lakshya 9,200 points, which will lift him to sixth place in the standings with 74,180 points when they are updated on Tuesday.
However, the race to Hangzhou is not over yet, as the Hong Kong Open (November 17-22) is the last qualifying event.
"He is really in form now, and I sincerely hope he qualifies. Next is the Hong Kong Open, and every round is really tough. If he can do well there, he will get about three weeks to prepare himself for the year-end finals," Vimal said.
This was Lakshya's second Super 500 title of the year and fifth overall at the level, placing him joint-second among men’s singles players. He also became the first Indian men’s singles player to win two World Tour titles in a season since Kidambi Srikanth won four Superseries titles in 2017.
Vimal said Lakshya's ability to keep the shuttle in play and defend better after the opening game had helped him turn the contest around.
"Today also, I thought the way he played even though he was a little slow to start because Koki played at a very good pace. He is really the in-form player. And so if you look at it, the first game, he was hitting some unbelievable smashes down the line and Lakshya was slow to react to it.
"But second (game) onwards, I think he kept the shuttle in play, defended well, and the most important aspect in the third game was, Lakshya scored some outstanding smashes on the ankles. That is really nice... especially on the forehand side of Koki, he really caught him quite well and then the cross-smashes, all were very precise."
The 63-year-old also felt Lakshya had addressed his tendency to surrender points in clusters after building a substantial lead.
"When he takes a big lead, suddenly he can give quite a few points on the trot. So that he has really addressed. Even in between it happens...yesterday also he allowed Alwi to come back, even today against Koki also...but then he is able to arrest it at the right time and find that focus back, and so that is a big plus factor."
Following Lakshya's win, Indian shuttlers have now claimed a total of nine titles and four silver medals so far in the season. However, India could win only a bronze from the World Championships at home in August and a team bronze from men's side at the Asian Games, failing to return with a medal in individual events.
Reflecting on India's performances at major events, Vimal said the players would have to take criticism in their stride and respond with strong results.
"Yeah, Indian badminton, maybe it was a little disappointing at the World Championships, especially because it was in India and everybody was expecting a lot from our players. Then, at the Asian Games, we could only get a bronze medal, so that was also a bit of a letdown.
"But that is how it is. These criticisms are part of the sport, and athletes have to take them in their stride."
With the 2028 Olympic qualification cycle approaching, Kumar said Indian players would need to adapt to the new 15-point scoring format, which comes into effect next year.
"None of the top players have played in this 15-point format. Some tweaks in training methods will be required. How they get a good start will make a big difference. Coming back will be very tough next year if you let go initially. Players will have to work systematically on cutting down errors.
"It will also be less taxing for players because the duration of matches will be reduced. They can wisely choose their tournaments and play accordingly. I want to see how all the top players cope because none of them have had any sort of competition in this format. Temperamental issues and many other things will come into play."
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)