‘Fire Inside is Burning Bright’
It’s still early in the season, and while looking for fresh beginnings, some of the prime protagonists of the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2025 were glancing at the rearview mirror to draw inspiration.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Lakshya Sen, for instance, whose 2024 season was – perhaps unfairly – identified with his missing out on a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, insisted that recent reverses hadn’t dimmed his fire. His win at the India Open three years ago was his biggest achievement on the Tour early in his senior career, and he sought to draw strength from that memory, for his recent form has been rather uneven.
He fell tamely in the first round of the PETRONAS Malaysia Open last week, and while he did win the Syed Modi International late last year, it was in a depleted field. Apart from team events like the Thomas Cup last year and the Asian Games in 2023, his results on the circuit have been modest, with the bright spots being semifinals at the French Open and the All England early last year, besides the fourth place at the Olympics.
Sen acknowledged that he was looking to the India Open to rediscover his winning form at the bigger events on the World Tour.