New Delhi: Lakshya Sen is aware that his Olympic qualification is still in choppy waters but said he has been working on his “variations” and “deceptions” during the off-season
to regain his world’s top-10 position and seal his Paris Games berth.
The 22-year-old from Almora is currently ranked 17th in the Olympic Games qualification rankings and needs to stay inside the top 16 by April-end to make it to the Paris Games.
“To secure the spot I still have to work a little more harder in terms of getting good results, and once that is done, the qualification won’t be an issue,” Sen said ahead of his departure to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
“For me, right now the main concern is to go deep into the tournament in the next few months until April and then ranking will follow. As of now, we are not in a comfortable stage in the qualification ranking.
“I would like to improve my ranking and come in the top-10 by the end of qualification.”
Commonwealth Games champion Sen claimed the Canada Open Super 500 title in July, besides three semifinal finishes at the Thailand Open Super 500, US Open Super 300 and Japan Open Super 750 last season.
However, Sen also made 11 first-round exits, including the last seven events, in the season which ended with a loss in the Senior National Championships in December.
Despite the rough waters and high tides, the former world No. 6 has not allowed it to dampen his spirits and has worked on the “variation of his attack” during the last few weeks to regain his form in the new season.
“I was not at my best, I was trying to fight every game but somehow I couldn’t find that momentum. I really can’t pinpoint one aspect. I mean, physical aspect would be one but there are few other on-court things,” Sen said.
“I played a lot of tournaments in 2023, I didn’t get time to prepare well or work hard on fitness. Last six weeks I have had time to train. So my fitness level has improved, last few weeks I have been focusing on on-court training, gradually increasing the intensity.