We saw Hima Das clinching a gold medal at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships a week back. Then just a day ago, Muhammad Anas came through with flying colours as he surpassed his previous own 400m national record and won a gold medal at the Cena Noveho Mesta nad Metuji event on Saturday in Prague, Czech Republic.
Today, India’s rising badminton talent, Lakhsya Sen shot into prominence as he went on to win the gold medal in men’s singles competition at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2018 in Jakarta. The 16-year old trounced d the top seed and the World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in back to back games 21-19, 21-18 to clinch the top honour at the event.
This is Sen’s biggest win in his career and the gold medal is just too special for him. He made India proud. In what is a staggering achievement, World No.9 became the first Indian to win the medal at the competition in 6 years. He also became the first person in 53 years to win the medal in men’s singles event.
Sen now joins Gautam Thakkar and PV Sindhu to become the third shuttler to clinch the junior Asian championship. While Sindhu had won the medal in 2012, Thakkar had won the gold medal all the way back in 1965.
Sen successfully defeated the strong competitors on his way to title triumph. The budding shuttler trounced 2nd seed China’s Li Shifeng 21-14, 21-12 in the quarterfinal, and then had to beat 4th seed Ikhshan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 21-7, 21-14 to reach the final. Sen, who is a former world No. 1, had won a bronze at the same event. He had lost to China’s Sun Feixiang 21-12 21-16 in Bangkok in the semifinals.
