Unfinished business: Lakshya Sen ready to dazzle in Birmingham again

badminton, has some unfinished business in Birmingham. Four months ago, it was in Birmingham that he became the first Indian man in 21 years to reach the finals of the All England Championship, only to see the gold medal slip out of his hands. The 20-year-old from Almora will have another opportunity to dazzle in Arena Birmingham this year and he is keen to go all the way, albeit, in a different tournament -- the Commonwealth Games, beginning July 28.

"I like playing in that hall, the conditions suit me. I have good memories there and I am very confident that I will do well this time too. This is also a big tournament, so I am looking forward to giving my best and winning a medal," Sen told PTI.

"All the top 3-4 players have a good chance of winning the gold and I am not thinking about the colour of the medal, I just want to go there and focus on one match at a time." Four years ago, Sen, then a 16-year-old budding shuttler, remained glued to his TV set as India scripted history at Gold Coast, claiming the country's first mixed team badminton gold. It turned out to be an important year for the 'wonder boy' as well as he won the Youth Olympics mixed team gold in Buenos Aires, became the Asian Junior Champions in Jakarta, and also secured a bronze at the World Junior Championships. "Last time I watched it on TV when India won the gold.

Before that, I also watched (Parupalli) Kashyap bhaiya win the gold (in 2014). But 2018 was a nice moment. I wanted to be there in that team," Sen said.

"Commonwealth Games is a prestigious event for India. I think it will be up there along with world championships in terms of priority. Everyone aspires to play the Olympics but before that, you try to get used to such multiple events and do