Lakshya Sen, who became the fifth Indian to reach the final of the All England Badminton Championship, achieved a career-best world ranking. The 20-year-old was defeated by Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles final.
Sen jumped two spots to the ninth position in the latest badminton world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation on Tuesday. He had defeated defending champion Lee Zii Jia to reach the final.
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“I want to thank everyone who supported me. I would like to continue this form ahead in the tournament. Playing in the All England Badminton Championship 2022 finals gave me self-confidence; I was nervous before the match but I keep growing,” the badminton star said, as per ANI.
This is for the first time Lakshya Sen has been ranked in the top 10. With 74,786 points, he surpassed reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. The All England Badminton Championship silver medallist is also India’s top-ranked player currently. He pipped Kidambi Srikanth, who has now slipped to 12th spot.
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Meanwhile, India’s women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also achieved career-best ranking. The two jumped 12 places to reach a world ranking of 34.
“It’s been a long journey for me from Almora to the All England Open. I gave it my all on the court in the final yesterday vs Viktor but it wasn’t meant to be,” Sen wrote in a post shared on his Twitter handle.
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“For me, getting the chance to represent my country means everything to me. I am living my dream an I will always give my 100 % on court.”
His impressive show was lauded by all, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sachin Tendulkar.
“I am overwhelmed and humbled with all the love and support I have received from so many fans in india and all over the world and just wanted to say a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone,” Sen wrote.
