16-year-old Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen entered his name into the records book as he won the gold medal in the men’s singles category by beating World No 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the finals of the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta on July 22.
In a match that lasted for about 46 minutes, Sen thrashed Vitidsarn 21-19, 21-18 to end India’s 53-year wait to win gold in men’s singles event at Asian Junior Championship. This victory was was Sen’s biggest-ever win. His previous best was bronze in the 2016 Asian Juniors.
With the win, Lakshya became only the third Indian after Gautam Thakkar (1965) and PV Sindhu (2012) to pocket a gold medal at the Asia Junior Championships.
Following Sen’s historic win, Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages with some calling him as ‘India’s New Golden Boy’. Here are a few reactions:
India’s new Golden Boy!@lakshya_sen enter record books,ending a wait of 53 years to win a gold in the men’s singles event at the Asian Junior Championship with a flawless performance; beats World No1 K.Vitidsarn 21-19,21-18 to secure his biggest ever career medal #IndiaontheRise pic.twitter.com/xwRxMT6wP1
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) July 22, 2018
@lakshya_sen __
Congratulations on your supercalifragilisticexpialidocious achievement! You have always made us proud, we are proud to boast the Asian Champion! Cheers!@BAI_Media @IndiaSports#AsiaJuniorChampionship #IndiaKaGame #India #Asia #Badminton— Sambit Upadhyay (@SambitUpadhyay) July 22, 2018
A world champion in the making. An ideal reference for how nurturing and backing talent from early age leads to unimaginable results in a long run. Kudos @OGQ_India @virenrasquinha #LakshyaSen https://t.co/XyP9OW0q1v
— Anuj Magazine (@anujmagazine) July 22, 2018
Our #TOPSAthlete @lakshya_sen wins the_at the prestigious #Badminton Asia Jr. Championships after a straight sets victory in boy’s singles final over top seeded #KunlavutVitidsarn.He is only the 2nd Indian after @Pvsindhu1 to win_at this tourney since 1997. Brilliant show!_ pic.twitter.com/Gji8uBkRFa
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) July 22, 2018
.@lakshya_sen is the new Badminton Asia Junior Champion. He defeated reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-19, 21-18 to clinch the title pic.twitter.com/a1oHs5GscK
— Abhijeet Kulkarni (@abk6580) July 22, 2018
Here’s a list of shuttlers who have previously won a medal at the Asian Junior Championship:
1965 — Gautam Thakkar (gold)
2009 — Pranav Chopra and Prajkta Sawant (bronze)
2011 — Sameer Verma (silver)
2011 — PV Sindhu (bronze)
2012 — PV Sindhu (gold)
2012 — Sameer Verma (bronze)
