Why Lakshya Sen’s muddled shot selection and unstinging smash has coach Vimal Kumar worried

It is entirely expected that coming that close to a medal and not winning would have broken Sen a little. He is also battling shoulder and ankle injuries, managing which can make him circumspect on attack. But the crux of the disintegration happened from 17-17 to trailing 17-20, in allowing Naraoka to edge ahead. And it is this finishing freeze that bothers the seasoned coach no end.

“I’m disappointed and a little concerned. Till 17-all he was OK, but Lakshya should have taken the first game,” the coach says. “He’s still not applying himself in those crucial situations. He needed to push pace for Kodai can be beaten when you vary pace.” Sen couldn’t inject speed and the shot selection entirely failed him.

Luck doesn’t just favour the brave but also cackles at passivity and tentativeness in sport. In what was a recurring instance, Sen’s net play remained completely blurred and faltering, and his attempt to hack at a dribble (or was it a lift?) clipped the chord and fell on his own side, on a poor day to give Kodai the opener 21-19.

The speed at which Naraoka played was taking a toll on his endurance, and he was panting wildly but at 5-1 came another chance for the Indian – albeit after a winner that left the crowd agape. Naraoka picked a shuttle low on his backhand flank in the midcourt and recovered so quickly that his forehand push on the next shot on the opposite side found an empty court as Sen was too stunned to react. The Indian made it 6-10 from 1-8 down, erringly believing Naraoka had tired, but once again didn’t continue the momentum, and had no answers to crosscourt smashes to his forehand lines. His net sharpness was abysmal and the lifts were lollipops offered to invite smashes.

On his net game, Vimal said, “Lakshya was not sharp at the net and Kodai was comfortable playing him. The shuttle wasn’t spinning in dribbles or tumbles leading to errors and lifts were not great,” he said. Sen should have used punch clears to open up the court, for Kodai could only play retrievable drops to the back. “Either the clears or a good length on the lifts. But it didn’t work out.”

Sen wasn’t unaware of where things were falling apart. “It was a very physical match for both of us, rallies were very long. First game was important for me. I had my chances in the first. If I had taken maybe pushed it to third. But let’s see. He played a very solid game. I feel second set had lot of easy errors from my side. I couldn’t really get the length and played too many short length shots from the net,” the 23-year-old, now ranked No 18, told BWF.

Smash missing sting

Of greater concern to Vimal is the health of the Lakshya Sen-smash. It’s tepid right now, and costing him games. “When I speak to him he says shoulder is OK. But maybe back of his mind, he’s still wary and hence tentative (about injury). But the big problem is when he comes under the shuttle (ideal position), his hard smashes onnthe body lack sting,” the coach explains. “Last couple of years it’s becoming a little ineffective.”

So even if Sen ran around perfectly, anticipated and got under the bird, the smash couldn’t get him the winner. “He tends to play slices and half smashes, but he’s not employing the hard smash from good positions. Typically if he hits one and it gets returned, the next two three shots lack the same power and sting so he can’t finish the down stroke,” he explains.

Closing out sets has been particularly confounding. “He got tentative at 17-17 and gave away easy points. He needed to be bold there,” Vimal says. A large part of it, is functioning or pushing a higher pace, but the Sen mentality almost shrivels, as if apologetic about taking the set, grabbing the match by its collar.

While a confidence crisis is visible, Vimal believes only by gritting it out against big names will he regain confidence. Asked if it could be viewed as a conservative buildup to the World Championship next month, Vimal, always blunt, stated, “No, losing is a terrible way to build up for wins in a big event. He just needs to train for his strokes harder.”

While some might prescribe playing smaller events and winning titles to regain confidence, neither coach nor player would settle for that placebo, and will have to gulp down bitter losses and plod on. “This level (Super 750) I’ve played few matches in past 2-3 months,” Sen told BWF. But this is the kind of level I want to play, week in, week out. Definitely this was good experience for me. It will help me in coming tournaments and in World Championships,” Sen hinted at what’s whirling in his mind.

Sen ceded he knew what was lacking. “Against Kodai, you have to earn every point. No easy points. He’s a very steady player. So you just have to wait for the right chance to …he has a solid defense, so I have to be sharp in my attack,” he said.

He next heads to China Open, a Super 1000 at Changzhou. Chastised a little and hungry to prove a point at a big event – that might well add some sting to the smash, though Vimal insists he needs to fight harder.