New Delhi: When Lakshya Sen walks onto the court at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium for the BWF World Championships, he will carry with him the weight of a nation’s hopes for a gold medal. But for years, despite his burgeoning talent and promise, one issue has become almost characteristic of his game at major events – faltering in crunch matches when the stakes are at their highest.

Be it the Olympic bronze medal match in Paris or the All England Open final in Birmingham, he could not live up to the occasion when it mattered most, struggling to preserve his energy and composure for the business end. Operating on the edge of greatness, he has repeatedly slipped just when he seemed a step away from attaining it. But he is a history-maker in his own right, being the first Indian male player to reach the Olympic semifinals.

In the men’s singles bronze medal match, he squandered a golden chance to win in straight games, surrendering an 8-3 lead to fall 8-12 behind against Lee Zii Jia in the second game, having gone 21-13 up in the first. The defeat was mentally taxing, and Lakshya took a two-month break before returning to the court. Even after his return, the ghost of that defeat continued to linger in his game, with a couple of first-round exits following.

He, however, managed to put the brakes on that dry spell, winning the Syed Modi India International title in December. At the All England Open this year, that familiar sign of jangling nerves became evident again. After promising so much and ending India’s long wait for a finalist, he went down in straight games against Lin Chun-yi.

Ahead of the World Championships, it remains a concern. But those heartbreaks are, believably, things of the past now. Sagar Chopda, the head coach at the Centre for Badminton Excellence (formerly PPBA) in Bengaluru, where Lakshya trains, said the shuttler is now out of that phase and gearing up for a remarkable World Championships -the country’s first in 17 years.

“For Laskhya, the Olympics was probably any colour medal for him. The way he played the semifinals against Viktor Axelsen, it could have gone either ways. But that’s past now. I would not give any thought to what happened at the Olympics or the All England. He is out of it now,” Sagar told Sports Now in an exclusive interview.

“Any player would go through a very, very rough phase after that. Lakshya has come back really strong after the Olympics. And now, we are looking at the next Olympics,” he added.

Despite having a not-so-remarkable season this year – barring the All England Open final, he has mostly endured a string of early exits – Sagar believes that could be Lakshya’s way of building himself up for the World Championships.

“Unlike the previous times when he used to struggle, in many of the tournaments, yes, he hasn’t had a good run. But that is his way of maybe preparing. His mental coaches have probably worked on it that way. So, he has always been mentally strong. It is just that he has not been able to convert his matches in the last year or so. But if you look at the important tournaments, he has really done well. At the All England, he played extremely well.

Last year, he did well at the end of the season. Towards the end of the season, he won the Australian Open last year in November. Prior to that, he also reached the finals of the Hong Kong Open,” added Sagar.

At the World Championships, Lakshya will open his campaign against Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon. However, he has been placed in the same half as pacy players such as Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the 2023 champion and last edition’s runner-up, and French juggernaut Alex Lanier. Against Vitidsarn, Lakshya trails 5-8, but the positive is that he beat him in their most recent meeting at the Singapore Open. Against Lanier, Lakshya has lost both of their previous meetings.

Heading into the World Championships, however, Sagar says the opponents are invisible to Lakshya. He has not even checked the draw. Instead, he has focused on transforming himself into a mentality monster – one ready for any opponents, any styles and any condition.

Top players overcome challenging conditions and opponents of varied styles and strengths. Lakshya knew he needed exactly that. To that end, he has been working diligently with his psychologist while training under Korean coach Yoo Yong-sung.

“Lakshya is a big-match player. I mean, you know, the Olympics that he played or the All England final this year that he played. It was an extremely credible performance by him,” said Sagar.

“If I remember correctly, a couple of days back, I read an interview where he gave a statement saying that, you know, he is not worried about who the opponent is on the other side. He is just preparing for anybody who comes his way. Opponents are invisible at the moment. He is not looking at those whom he is going to face at the World Championships. I think it is these mental tactics that he has been working on with his psychologist. And, you know, they have a strategy in place,” he added.

While battling nerves has been one challenge, unforced errors have been another. Playing against the drift has been Lakshya’s biggest vulnerable spot. Instead of slowing down and engaging in rallies, he tends to rush the shuttle and falls into the speed trap while playing on the slower side of the court. This was mostly the case when he played in a big hall like the Adidas Arena in Paris.

To overcome the challenge and cut down on unforced errors, he shifted to the National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Guwahati a week before the Delhi event to get himself accustomed to the big-hall feel of the IG Indoor Stadium.

“At the NCE, the academy or the infrastructure is world class. It is a bigger hall. One of the key reasons why Lakshya and his team decided to go and train at NCAE was that it is a bigger hall than what we have here in Bengaluru. And slightly similar conditions to what they would have in Delhi. So, I think that was one of the key reasons why they decided to train at NCE,” Sagar said articulating the idea behind the move.

To equip himself for the drifty conditions and ensure he does not concede a lead when faced with a similar situation, he had his coach, Yoo Yong, run AC blowers from every side of the hall – right, left, diagonally and above – to help him perfect his feel for the pace.

While practising can give one a feel for the challenge, the chances of success depend largely on the ability to adapt to the demands of the court.

“He is working on tactical and technical aspects of the game. Lakshya also is immensely experienced now. Drifty conditions, you just cannot control as seen at recent the China Open where players playing on the faster side drew benefits and the matches were one sided,” Sagar recalled.

“You have to get used to it as quickly as possible. And when you enter the court, you just have to be aware. And slowing down the game and not pacing off the game while playing on the slower side of the court. See, drift is something that is going to be common for both the players how much ever you try to predict in practice,” said Sagar.

“Playing in Delhi, we know that there is going to be drift. Because it is a huge stadium and you cannot avoid not putting air conditions. So, there is going to be drift. It is just that the player who handles the pressure better will do it. So, similarly, the player who handles the drift situations better will win,” he added.

Sagar, however, backs Lakshya’s pursuit of a second Worlds medal, believing the crowd factor could work in his favour. The shuttler feels charged up in a lively and noisy environment. With the World Championships being held in India, Lakshya will enjoy vociferous support from the home crowd, which could inspire him to go for the yellow metal.

Incidentally, it is the same complex where he won the India Open in 2022, though in a different venue – the now-practice courts of the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

But so much has changed since then, and so has Lakshya as a player. He is now more lethal, confident and polished, with his cross-court smashes and net game making him a far more dangerous player – one who has made his coaches believe in his ability ahead of the Worlds.

“All of us believe that Lakshya has the potential to rise up to the occasion,” said Sagar.

Lakshya is one such player who loves the noise and feel pumped up in boisterous environments. Venues in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur among his favourites as they boast roaring capacity badminton loving crowd.

With badminton and sports loving Indians set to throng the IG Indoor Stadium to witness the historic event, Lakshya will soak that.

“Lakshya actually enjoys that. So, he thrives on it. I think, in India, he is going to have tremendous crowd support. And that will definitely be in his favour,” said Sagar.

When the 14th seed walks onto the court, a deafening cheer will rise from the stands, with hopes soaring around him. Now, Lakshya must turn that noise into the moment he has long been waiting for.