New Delhi, March 10 Lakshya Sen admits that the physical demands of modern men's singles are forcing him to rethink his recovery and preparation strategies, even as the Indian badminton star continues to feel "a little disheartened" after falling short in his second All England final.
Lakshya battled through a series of grueling matches during a demanding week in Birmingham before losing to Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-yi.
"It has been a good week overall, but also an emotional one. Reaching the finals for the second time and not winning, it feels a bit disappointing after the match. However, overall, if I look back at the tournament, I had some good wins, a good run, and I played well in the matches. I think I can look forward to doing well in the upcoming tournaments," said the 24-year-old from Almora.
Lakshya had spent more than five hours on the court during the week, including a particularly challenging semifinal where he struggled with severe cramps before narrowly losing in the final.
He said that the experience reinforced the importance of balancing tournament schedules with recovery and structured training blocks.
"The matches and tournaments are very physically demanding, and also, I'm not 20 anymore, so I can't recover as quickly as I used to," Lakshya said.
"I'm not saying I'm old. What I mean is that there are changes I need to make in terms of my preparations, my recovery after matches, and especially my diet. When I was 21 or 22, I could eat anything without gaining weight. But now, I need to be more conscious about my diet."
"Also, with recovery, I need to manage things more effectively. Tactically, I want to improve my overall game, so I try to do that in training and play a certain style that suits me."
Lakshya also emphasized the importance of managing his workload, given the increasing demands of the tournament calendar.
"I've had some shoulder injuries that affected my performance in the last few years, especially when I was playing attacking shots. But over time, I'm being more cautious about how much I push myself and how many matches I play, and I need to give my body enough rest."
"And yes, I'm taking more care in my recovery between tournaments to avoid injuries. I find this very interesting, and I want to keep learning new techniques to recover better and get stronger."
With the Asian Championships and the World Championships among the major targets this season, Lakshya said that the focus will now be on analysing the All England campaign with his team.
"I think these are the two major events I will be participating in this year. I will sit down with my team and analyse the All England tournament in more detail, and also how the training program has been over the past few months."
"Then, I will focus on sharpening my skills, especially on the court, and also on staying fit throughout the season because there are many major events coming up."
Lakshya also credited mental trainer Mon Brockman for helping him develop a clearer approach to the pressures of the international circuit.
"I've been working with him for almost a year, and I've learned so much about mental training. Even approaching big tournaments differently compared to smaller events, where you know that these tournaments are mainly for preparation," he said.
"You don't take those losses too seriously, and you just keep working hard every day on the court."
"Mon, my coaches, and even my father are all there to support me and help me get better. They've seen this process, where you win or lose each week, and towards the end of the tournaments, you lose a lot of matches, but you don't get discouraged, and you just keep learning from every match."
"The idea is to stay motivated for the big ones and perform when it really matters."
Lakshya, who reached his first All England final in 2022, said that his mindset was very different this time.
"The first time, I was probably still dreaming that whole week that I was playing in such a big event and had reached the finals," he said.
"I was enjoying and playing without any pressure. But this time, when I reached the quarterfinals and semifinals, I was better prepared to know what to expect and how to play in these high-pressure matches."
"This time, I had that belief throughout the tournament that I could win and win the tournament."
Lakshya also revealed that injuries and the emotional aftermath of the Paris Olympics had made the last year challenging.
He had slipped out of the top 10 in rankings after the disappointment of the Olympics, while injuries also affected his consistency before he bounced back to win the Australia Open Super 500 last year.
"The last few months have been good. Last year, I had some injuries, and due to that, I wasn't able to play all the tournaments with full preparation," he said.
"But my form has been good in the last few months, and I feel physically better now. Skill-wise, I still need to keep improving, but I have had enough matches, and I'm playing well."