Lakshya Sen’s All England title miss has a silver lining – it keeps him driven for those elusive titles in the future | Badminton News

4 min readMar 15, 2026 08:30 AM It’s not a mere faint silver lining to a cloud. This is a complete dazzling rettai pettu Kanjeevaram double border golden lining to that dark, dimming cloud of losses in sport. Lakshya Sen losing his second All England final can get dissected in many ways. But the best way to look at it would be that Sen will remain hungry to prove himself, driven to make more finals and cross the threshold, keep working on his game and not for a moment think he has arrived.
Because Indian badminton needs its top names to get hardy and high viz at big events, and not rest on whatever laurels they’ve accumulated.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking of medal losses at Paris Olympics was that of Vinesh Phogat’s. But what also cut deep, a close second, was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s. India returned without a badminton medal from Paris, but every loss, denying them what they thought was due to them, has prolonged the motivation to dust up and go for it, all over again.
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi, right, poses on the podium after winning the men’s singles final match with runner up India’s Lakshya Sen at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
There was every chance that if PV Sindhu had won the World Championships gold in 2017, we might not have seen the perfection of Basel 2019. Had Sen gone on to win that bronze which was in striking dance at Paris, he might not have exerted, pushed the very limits of sprucing up his game, filling the gaps that remain in his armoury. And so it is with this All England. Sen isn’t yet ready to do battle on Day 5 against an all-out attacking opponent after averaging 78 minutes in the rest of his four matches. It’s not a shortcoming, mind – Sen did more than any other shuttler could have. But it wasn’t enough. So he will need to do more. Whichever way you slice it.
It’s tougher for Satwik-Chirag because they ticked the consency box in the last five years. They’ve weathered storms like excruciating pain and loss of a parent to lift themselves and win the last World Championships bronze. The fact that the gold has eluded them there is another blatant blessing in disguise. It sets up the 2026 World Championships in New Delhi pretty nicely.
While she’s far off the desired levels of attacking fitness, and she really has nothing left to prove, the missing Olympic gold, the missing Asiad title, can be said to keep Sindhu fighting day after day, even when retirement might seem so pleasant after 15 long years.
Losing motivation after a high like winning an Olympic gold isn’t a weakness of character or lack of ambition. It’s human, and entirely natural. Michael Phelps was struck it after a point. At most times, it’s the pains and aches that non-athletes won’t even comprehend. Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, and Abhinav Bindra maxed out their potential, fought with second winds, before their limbs and backs were wracked pain.Story continues below this ad
Kidambi Srikanth continues to produce moments (and only moments and matches, not entire weeks) of sublime play, and badminton is simple – watch for the finesse and flair, never mind the results. In 2017, his dream season, Srikanth would talk about his dream of winning 4-5 World Championships medals, behooving his talent. He had his silver in 2021, and injuries and a style of play that just wouldn’t crack the large arenas with slow shuttles. But would he have continued fighting if he had nailed the Olympics medal in 2016? Ditto for HS Prannoy, a certified late bloomer. The athletes would no doubt trade these extended struggles for those medals. But just like in cricket, the 2023 ODI World Cup loss for India ensured the back-to-back T20 World Cups and 2025 Champions Trophy were won. That elusive miss can firm up resolves as little else would.
It’s tricky, of course. Someone like Sankar Subramaniam or Tanvi Sharma might’ve benefitted from winning the World Juniors. The confidence does wonders. But a whole lot of sport is about waking the next day and hitting the courts knowing a dream is yet incomplete.
If clouds are what you are stuck with, the lining would rather be golden.
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Shivani Naik is a senior sports journal and Assant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.

Professional Profile
Role: Assant Editor and Column at The Indian Express.

Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.

Writing Style: Her work is characterized “technical storytelling”—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides “long reads” that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.

Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)

Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:

Indian Badminton’s “Hulks”: She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.

PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her “sparkle” and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.

The “Group of Death”: In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.

Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of “backhand deception” in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.

Legacy and Hory: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing horical context to current Indian successes.

Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)

The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)

Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)

Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)

Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)

Other Sports Interests

Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith’s dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.

You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. … Read More

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