Break before Commonwealth Games helped: Lakshya Sen

I could stretch Yong in final as I was fresher than him, says championBENGALURU: After conquering the pressure of expectations to win the men's singles badminton gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, young Lakshya Sen is getting ready to celebrate his 21st birthday next Tuesday before he takes off for the World Championships in Tokyo (August 22-28). The Almora boy, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy here, returned to a warm reception by the trainees and staff led by Prakash Padukone and PPBA director and chief coach U Vimal Kumar. Speaking to reporters at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, Sen said the six-week break he took by skipping tournaments in Malaysia and Singapore helped him to do well at the Birmingham Games.

APPRECIATION FROM A MASTER: Prakash Padukone admires the singles gold medal won by Lakshya Sen in the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham on Monday. (TOI Photo)"It was my first experience at the Commonwealth Games, and it feels good to do well. The break I gave myself by taking time off from tournaments before the CWG helped me do well. I didn't put too much pressure on myself thinking about the results. I went to Birmingham with an open mind but looking at the draw I had this confidence that if I did well, I could win this tournament. When I skipped the tournaments in Malaysia and Singapore, I knew that I wouldn't be so match fit if I did not play for six weeks. Eventually, the matches in the team event helped me to do well in the second half of CWG," Sen said. The Indian youngster said the final, where he battled back to beat Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong in three games, including a 42-stroke rally in the decider, was draining. "All the matches were tough, but the final was more