Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar names his 'new Badminton hero' after Prakash Padukone

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar seems to be engrossed in Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen as he uploaded a picture on Instagram with the caption, "My new Badminton hero Lakshya Sen, after the one and only Prakash Padukone." The two were pictured together as they shared pleasantries and enjoyed a brief moment on the court. Lakshya Sen's recent prominence to form hasn't gone unnoticed as he has been hailed by Gavaskar.

The 21-year-old has been the Indian badminton's torchbearer as his performance graph has been on the rise since he hogged the limelight in 2018 when he claimed the silver medal in the Youth Olympic games and he further elevated his level with a brilliant bronze medal in the BWF Junior World Championships.

Sunil Gavaskar hailed shuttler Lakshya Sen as the two posed for a photo

Sunil Gavaskar uploaded a picture on Instagram with Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen as he described the player as his badminton hero only after the legendary Prakash Padukone. He captioned the picture, "My new Badminton hero Lakshya Sen, after the one and only Prakash Padukone."

Lakshya Sen is currently ranked 11th in the BWF World Rankings as he gained a spot following his India Open display recently. The young shuttler failed to make his mark as he crashed out of the tournament following his loss to Denmark's Rasmus Gemke 16-21, 21-15, 21-18 in the quarterfinal.

But the youngster managed to defy the odds in the previous edition as he won the 2022 India Open by getting the better of Loh Kean Yew 24-22, 21-17 in the final. He went on to have a prolific 2022 as he made history to reach the final of the All-England Open where he lost to Viktor Axelsen. He also was a part of the Indian contingent that lifted the Thomas Cup last year and he became the fourth Indian player to win the badminton gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022. He lost the first game against Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong but came back brilliantly to set his place on the podium with the scoreboard showing the  19-21, 21-9, 21-16 result in his favour.