Karnataka: India’s World No. 9 Lakshya Sen who won the first men’s singles match against World No. 4 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the Thomas Cup final which ultimately helped the India team clinching their maiden Thomas Cup title, has arrived home in Bangalore on Monday night.
The 20-year-old couldn’t hide his joy in winning the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time and told Indian media that it was a very special moment for him.
“It’s a really proud moment for India; everyone came together as a team,” said Sen.
Sen who beat Max Weisskirchen in the Thomas Cup first Group C tie between India and Germany ended up losing all other matches, before finally winning his second and most important match of the tournament by beating Ginting of Indonesia in the final.
“At the beginning of the tournament, my upset stomach affected my energy levels on the court. I couldn’t give my 100 percent… then I had to really play in the quarter and semi-finals… I tried my level best to recover and go all out in the finals,” explained Sen.
Sen also gave credit to his seniors, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Pronnoy for their support after his loss to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei (second Group C tie), Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia (quarter-finals), and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark (semi-finals).
“They were really good mentors throughout the tournament as all the other players are still very young. We don’t have that much experience. So in a team event, I think they guided us very well throughout the tournament and even though I didn’t win the quarter-finals, they were always telling me that I could play well in my next matches. They always had that belief that we can win against Indonesia and they always had that belief in me,” added Sen.
Sen told reporters that he will next be playing at upcoming tournaments in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Commonwealth Games, and also the World Championships.
“There will be two-three tournaments in Indonesia, and Malaysia. Those are important for rankings because those are Super 1000 Super 500 and Super 750 tournaments. I will also be competing at Commonwealth Games. Since the Asian Games have been postponed, I am also looking forward to the World Championships.”
