As he prepares for the biggest match of his life Sunday — the Olympics semifinal against World No. 2 Viktor Axelsen — Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen has his entire family camped at an apartment close to the Port de la Chapelle Arena, with “home-cooked meals” and smoothies dispatched to him everyday. The secret sauce for Lakshya Sen, the first Indian man to reach the last-four stage of the Olympics badminton competition, is his mother Nirmala’s cooking. She has travelled with him for around a month along with father Dhirendra Kumar and brother Chirag. Surprisingly, the fare on offer isn’t always Indian: Lakshya Sen’s staple lunch is a mildly spiced chicken noodle soup, crafted by Nirmala in coordination with the player’s nutritionist. Nirmala’s presence — be it at Marseilles for a fortnight before the Olympics or in Paris this last week — has ensured that Lakshya gets the same customised meals he ate back home in Bengaluru. A training day in Bengaluru typically sees him eat 6-7 moderate meals. “Lunch is noodle soup, chicken and vegetables cooked in stock. Sometimes, it was chicken steak and sometimes pasta with chicken,” Lakshya Sen had told The Indian Express before the Olympics. “My nutritionist, my mother and I work together.” The diet is tweaked only for supplements, with his physio checking in every hour on his hydration. Lakshya Sen’s coach, Vimal Kumar, said upon reaching France ahead of the Olympics: “We have ensured that his mother is close by so that he feels comfortable.” Viren Rasquinha, head of Olympic Gold Quest (operations) which supports Lakshya Sen, said: “His mother has travelled and has been cooking for him daily. It was important that during a big event, he was in the best possible frame of mind.” Nirmala has ensured that his pre-and post-match meals have been on the dot, knowing that Lakshya Sen tends to stay skinny and get injured because his intake doesn’t match the energy expended. Lakshya Sen's high metabolism “I have a very high metabolism. So, I won’t gain weight even if I eat a little bit extra. But, for me, it’s important to keep eating. If I don't eat and still train at a very high intensity, I tend to lose weight. I have to really focus on eating the right protein, eating good carbs in between,” Lakshya Sen said. While some high intensity physical conditioning has boosted his strength, a large part of his fitness was down to the diet in the years leading up to these Olympics. Lakshya Sen, even when travelling without family, lugs his smoothie maker to every tournament. “Even if I have an early session at 6 am, I have a fruit smoothie with oatmeal at 5.30 am. Or with almond milk and dry fruits, and then regular breakfast and protein shakes after training. In the afternoons, it’s more like 3-4 moderate meals, not one heavy meal,” he said. A large part of preparing his psyche for the Games was to make him learn to adapt. He learnt to chew on “chicken that tasted sweet” despite an intense dislike. “If I don’t like something, the nutritionist suggests alternatives. If the stomach is happy, the mood is happy,” Lakshya Sen said, adding that he can eat anything other than bitter-gourd. Shuttlers are always travelling, and he was trained to never get attached to Indian food. “I am OK with eating other food. I don’t eat Indian food. I carry protein bars and eat the local fruits. Supplements and protein shakes I carry. The nutritionist was clear that we are not to eat any packed, processed food. It’s not good to carry. So all that I avoid. Usually fresh food always,” he said. He had grown fond of Nando’s grilled chicken and potatoes for the dinner load-up at Birmingham when he won the Commonwealth Games. At Paris, though, he has stuck to Nirmala’s cooking the whole time. Asked if there was a meal reserved for only after a possible medal, he would wave away any hint of a sacrifice. “I don’t ever have cravings for ice cream or chocolate.”
