Lakshya Sen stutters, settles, soars to conquer opening Worlds hurdle

Lakshya Sen struggled to start the first round of the Badminton World Championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India. The 25-year-old, a 2021 World Championships medallist, faced a tall opponent in Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon. The challenging conditions, including wind and drift in the stadium, affected Lakshya's net shots, leading to a 21-19 loss in the first game.

Despite the initial difficulties, Lakshya acknowledged the support of the roaring crowd and their chants helped him adjust to the conditions. He realized he needed to change his tactics to deal with Filimon's height and power. After the mid-game break, Lakshya started generating power, dominating the second game 21-8 and ultimately winning the match 16-21, 21-8, 21-4.

Lakshya attributed his success to changing his approach, focusing on deceptive drops and down-the-line smashes rather than giving Filimon attacking shots. He also expressed that the crowd's support played a significant role in his performance.