'He Needs to Get Super Fit': Lakshya Sen's Coach Vimal Offers Critical Update on Ace India Shuttler

Lakshya Sen suffered a heartbreak when he missed out on the medal at the Paris Olympics. The Ace Indian shuttler had a surreal campaign and was sailing through all his matches until the semifinal. Lakshya could not withstand Viktor Axelsen's dominance and also failed to prevail in the bronze medal match. Sen's run in Paris was a rollercoaster which ended up medal-less. Lakshya will now work on himself after the Olympics, and Coach Vimal Kumar has opened up on the next steps for the athlete and what he will be doing now.

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Coach Vimal Kumar Divulges Lakshya Sen's Plans, Says He Needs to Work on His Endurance

While speaking to PTI, Lakshya Sen's coach Vimal Kumar revealed that the shuttler needs to work out on his endurance and also needs to be thoroughly fit for competition. He also recognizes the importance of developing the skill to regulate the drift.

"He needs to definitely get better on fitness aspects, especially the speed, endurance and other things he needs to work on. Because the game he plays, it's very fast-paced. He has to defend a lot and then he converts the defence into offense.

"When he's playing with the wind, he needs to keep putting the shuttle down, come into the net, tumble at the net, so up and down... those sort of things it takes away a lot of your energy. So, he needs to get super fit or develop the ability to control the drift," Coach Vimal Kumar said.

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Coach Vimal Kumar also revealed that Lakshya Sen is heading to Salzburg's Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre for his thorough examination to boost his fitness and endurance levels for the upcoming competition. The Coach believes that Lakshya needs to get the appropriate physical training and the proper strength and conditioning program. If not done, he could be prone to injuries, which could be a setback for the Indian shuttler. The badminton star will be there for a week and is expected to return to competition from September onwards.