'Want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton': Lakshya Sen hails former Indian captain for his 'mentality and aggression'

India’s star shuttler Lakshya Sen heaped praises on the Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli. Sen hailed Kohli’s batting and resilience while aspiring to replicate his success and impact in the future by bringing glory to Badminton. He was one of the most talked about Indian athletes in the Paris Olympics 2024. The 23-year-old won five consecutive games to reach the semis. He eventually lost to Viktor Axelsen in the semis and Lee Zii Jia in the Bronze medal match and failed to win a medal on his Olympic debut. However, his impressive performance has instilled faith in Indians for a promising future in Badminton.

Talking to Ranveer Allahbadia on his YouTube Podcast he was asked about the similarity of his shot with Virat's 18.5 shot. Lakshya played an astonishing no-look shot against Jonatan Christie at the Paris Games while Virat Kohli hit a magical six on Haris Rauf’s bowling against Pakistan at MCG in the T20 World Cup 2022. Fans worldwide started drawing comparisons between the two shots and thus Sen was asked about it.

"Lakshya Sen did an 18.5 of Virat Kohli, who played a crazy shot. So this was the badminton equivalent, people are calling you the Virat Kohli of badminton, it's cool to be called Virat Kohli of any field, would you take that compliment?" asked Ranveer on his YouTube channel.

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"Why not, I mean, at the same time he has done a lot for Indian cricket, and yes I want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years. Virat Kohli is one of the biggest sporting icons in India. I'm his fan, especially for his mentality and aggression,” said Sen. 

Lakshya’s Paris performance

Sen defeated one of the medal contenders Jonatan Christie of Indonesia on his way to the semi-finals. But later lost to the defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. He then lost the bronze-medal match 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 against the world No. 7 Malaysia going empty-handed from his first Olympics. 

Sen at just 23 has been incredible in his career. He was the runner-up in the All England Open 2022 and was a part of the Indian team that won the Commonwealth Gold medal in Hangzhou to his name. The Olympic medal would have been another feather in his cap. According to his coach, he will now head to Salzburg's Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre to work on his fitness and endurance. He will then undergo fitness training in Austria for one week. The 23-year-old will return to action in September.

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