Lakshya Sen withdraws from Syed Modi International citing exhaustion

At the season-opening India Open on Sunday, the 20-year-old from Uttarakhand surprised world champion Loh Kean Yew.

Lakshya Sen in a file photo; Credit: Lakshya Sen Twitter page
By Nilavro Ghosh | Jan 17, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Lakshya Sen, the newly crowned India Open champion, withdrew from the Syed Modi International on Monday (January 17) after feeling “exhausted” from competing in back-to-back events since October of last year. At the season-opening India Open on Sunday, the 20-year-old from Uttarakhand surprised world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the finals to win his first Super 500 title (January 16).

“Since completing the India Open 2022 tournament in Delhi last night, I am feeling very exhausted and suffering from tiredness. In these circumstances, I am afraid I will not be able to do justice to my participation in the event,” Sen said in his letter to the organisers.

“Therefore, after consulting my coaches, my physios and family, I have decided it would be best for me to withdraw from the Syed Modi International 2022 tournament so that I can take some much needed rest and recuperate, before I start training in earnest for the upcoming events from March onwards,” he added.

Since October of last year, the youngster has played in nine competitions. On his debut, he reached the finals of the Dutch Open, the semifinals of the Hylo Open, and the knockout stage of the World Tour Finals before winning bronze at the World Championships last year.

‘Sincere apologies’

“My sincere apologies for the short notice to withdraw from the event. I trust you will understand my position and appreciate your support in this matter. I hope the tournament goes off smoothly, and I wish all participants, especially my fellow participants from India, all the very best in the event,” Sen added.

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Indian shuttlers are in for a busy season, with big-ticket events like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games on the horizon, in addition to the usual BWF World Tour events like the World Championships and All England Championships. Sen, who last month won bronze at the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, following in the footsteps of his coach Prakash Padukone, will now aim to win the All England Championships in March. After becoming the first team from India to win the India Open, top men’s doubles combo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty decided to skip the Super 300 tournament.

Top seed Kidambi Srikanth, top women’s doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa, and top men’s doubles player Manu Attri are among the Indians who have announced their withdrawal from the competition to PTI. After testing positive with COVID-19 last week, Srikanth, Ashwini, and Attri were pulled from the India Open.