It still hurts: Lakshya focused on fitness and building momentum after Olympic heartbreak

CHINA: India's Lakshya Sen admitted the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will linger, but said he is now focused on regaining his full fitness and building momentum ahead of the next season with strong performances in the remaining tournaments.

The Uttarakhand shuttler suffered a tough blow in August when he lost the bronze-medal playoff at the Paris Olympics, squandering an advantageous position to Malaysia's world No. 7, Lee Zii Jia. Since then, his return to action has been difficult, with early exits in his last three tournaments.

On Tuesday, Sen finally found some relief, defeating Lee in three games to progress to the second round of the China Masters Super 750 tournament.

"It was a tough tournament. In a way, it gave me a lot of positives but having come this close, it still hurts a bit. I feel it's still going to hurt for some time," the 23-year-old told reporters after notching up a 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 win over Lee in a hard-fought match.

"The only thing I'm trying to take is a lot of motivation from that and really push myself to be a better badminton player overall. I think that experience will also teach me a lot of things.

"Now I'm just trying to get back to my fitness. Also there are a few niggles here and there, so just trying to manage that."

Sen, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, added that his focus now is on regaining his fitness.

"Now I'm just trying to get back to my fitness. Also, there are a few niggles here and there, so just trying to manage that," he said.

Looking ahead to 2025, Sen's initial goal is to perform well in Malaysia and at the All England Championships.

"Trying to build myself really strong so that I can play the next season really strong. This year it's just about getting a few good matches under the belt because in the last one and a half months, two months, I've tried to come back," the Commonwealth Games champion said.

"And then I just want to get a few good matches and maybe have a good performance before the year ends. But nevertheless, just trying to focus on building it to Malaysia and All England next year."

Since returning post-Olympics, Sen has struggled, with a second-round exit at the Arctic Open Super 500 and first-round losses at the Denmark Open Super 750 and Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500.

"I feel good to win a match after a really long time. Things have been a little bit up and down post the Olympics. I'm still trying to get back to my fitness.

"I took a break a little bit from the usual. Slowly getting back into the circuit. A couple of tough few rounds before this. I'm happy with the way I played today and just stuck in. Looking forward to tomorrow," he signed off