The Paris Olympics 2024 has been a bittersweet experience for the Indian sports fans. After the high of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where India returned with a record seven medals, the expectation was that at the Paris Olympics, the haul would be bigger. However, following a string of narrow misses and some unlucky incidents (like the Vinesh Phogat disqualification), India won six medals. Badminton was one sport where India has fared well in the last three editions.
Starting from the 2012 Olympics, Indian badminton stars have returned with at least one medal. However, this time there were no medals. The star duo of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty could not enter the semi-finals. Singles player Lakshya Sen became the first Indian male shuttler to enter the Olympic semi-final but lost crucial matches despite being in a strong situation.
Amid such displays, badminton legend Prakash Padukone said that It was time for the badminton stars to bring home good results as there was enough support from the government and other stakeholders.
The comment was criticised by many. Former Indian cricket team captain Sunil Gavaskar, however, has supported Prakash Padukone and critisiced Lakshya Sen’s mental block.
“As far back as 2017/18, Prakash, who I unfortunately meet rarely, had told me about this kid, Lakshya Sen. He had taken him under his wing and was his guide and mentor. He would have watched Lakshya’s progress step by step. As he came to the cusp of an Olympic medal, Prakash was by the courtside along with the hard-working and indefatigable Vimal Kumar to see the fulfillment of not just Lakshya’s dream but also that of the entire community of Indian badminton lovers,” Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar.
“To then see a 20-17 and 7-0 lead being squandered off in the semifinal (vs Viktor Axelsen) and then lose the bronze medal match (vs Lee Zee Jia) after winning the first game comfortably must have been gut-wrenching indeed. He, Vimal Kumar, the BAI, and the government’s TOPS had done everything possible, but when it came to the crunch, Lakshya was, in the famous words of the Indian cricket team captain (Rohit Sharma), ‘garden mein ghoomne wala.'”
Gavsakar felt that Lakshya had lost his “thought and concentration”.
“For those who watched both the semifinal and the bronze medal matches, it did appear that Lakshya had lost his trend of thought and concentration in the way he looked at his racquet as he sipped from his water bottle in between points or at the changeovers,” Gavaskar wrote.
“I could be completely wrong, but on TV, it looked like a blank expression, and that’s usually a sign that the mind has wandered. Concentration and focus are things that no coach or trainer can ever teach. It can be developed over the years by the athlete by observing other champions and having an inner resolve, but there’s no specific program for it. Yes, mind trainers are around, but they can only do so much and not more. It’s got to be within the athlete.”
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