BWF Tour Finals: Lakshya Sen vs Viktor Axelsen – Lakshya Sen, the lone Indian male shuttler to make the BWF Tour Finals – semifinals, will once again be facing World No 1 Viktor Axelsen in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday. And coach Vimal Kumar has spoken at length with the 20-year-old about how to go about his job as Lakshya Sen looks to overcome the odds and reach the final. Follow BWF Tour Finals Live on InsideSport.IN
The two shuttlers faced off in the group stages and the Dane emerged triumphant with a 21-15, 21-14 scoreline. Viktor Axelsen will once again head into the upcoming meeting as the favourite.
BWF Tour Finals: Lakshya Sen looks to overcome odds in semifinal clash with Viktor Axelsen, coach Vimal Kumar confident of improved display
“Viktor Axelsen is a class apart. But Lakshya is now part of the big leagues and he needs to change his mindset and believe that he can win,” his coach Vimal Kumar told InsideSport.
During their group stage encounter, Lakshya Sen showed that he is a quick learner. He went toe-to-toe with the Olympic gold medallist but lost steam at crucial junctures. But when compared to the time the pair faced off back in the Denmark Open, Lakshya Sen showed improvement according to Vimal Kumar.
“Against Viktor Axelsen in the group stages, he showed tenacity but in the crucial moments he couldn’t sustain the pressure and ended up giving away easy points. He will learn and he has already put in a better show compared to last time around and I’m confident he will play fearlessly in the semis,” Vimal Kumar added.
Viktor Axelsen leads Lakshya Sen 3-0 in the head-to-head. While Sen is definitely the underdog, he can be proud of his efforts and will hope to learn a lot from this enriching experience. The 20-year-old became the youngest Indian to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals following a consistent season.
BWF Tour Finals: Lakshya Sen looks to overcome odds in semifinal clash with Viktor Axelsen, coach Vimal Kumar confident of improved display
