The India Open was always going to be a crucial stop for both Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat.
The former is an ex-champion, an established star, the flagbearer of Indian men’s badminton today, one who has beaten the best in the world regularly.
Rajawat, on the other hand, is among the country’s most promising shuttlers, already challenging HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth.
But both Sen and Rajawat have witnessed a rapid dip in their performance of late.
Following a dismal start to 2023 when Sen was recovering from his deviated nasal septum surgery, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion was beginning to show signs of his old self when he reached the semi-finals of Thailand Open, US Open and Japan Open before finally clinching Canada Open.
But the 22-year-old went through an incredible dip in form to lose seven successive first round losses (in individual events) since the end of the 2023 World Championships.
On Tuesday, that figure became eight when Rajawat rallied to beat his friend and fellow Thomas Cup champion 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 in an hour and 15 minutes to enter Round 2 of the $850,000 tournament at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
“This was an important and good match for me after a long time. Lakshya is like my brother. I can see a good change in my performance as last time I lost to him in three games at the Japan Open,” said the 21-year-old Rajawat.
Rajawat’s performances haven’t been great either, especially since his Orleans Masters victory in April 2023, losing in the early rounds of most tournaments apart from Australian Open and Syed Modi India International where he reached the semis. But he put that dip down to a back injury.
“I had been struggling with my back on-and-off after Orleans Masters. But it became swollen and became really bad at the end of last year because of which I had to pull out of a few tournaments and take a break,” said Rajawat.
Back after a break, Rajawat was initially intimidated by the experience of Sen, especially during crucial points where the world No.19 showed his experience to defend better and attack when Rajawat was on the back foot.
But the shuttler from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh completely turned the tables on Sen in the second game. Light and quick on his feet, Rajawat not just matched Sen’s shots but also forced his senior to make errors by varying his pace regularly. A hammering smash, when picked by Sen, was immediately followed by an extremely slow lift to the rear of the court. The next shot was another fast tap at the net to finish the point.
It is always a difficult prospect to play a compatriot at the international arena where rankings and seedings go out of the window as the two players know each other’s game well. In this case, having followed Sen’s game for a long time, Rajawat anticipated Sen’s shots quite easily that allowed him to easily counter Sen’s shots. The Pullela Gopichand protege never lost the lead of the second game and pushed the contest into the decider.
The third game turned out to be a replica of the second. Though most fans at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium kept cheering for Sen – the more famous of the two – Rajawat pulled away thanks to how he kept varying the pace. The absence of air conditioning inside the cold stadium also helped as the world No.30 could fluctuate his pace without having to worry about drift.
Sen completely ran out of ideas towards the end as he kept returning the shuttle at the same pace, playing the same attacking shots. Taking advantage of that, Rajawat scored multiple winners with drops and disguised sliced smashes. Despite showing his athletic skills by leaping from one end of the court to the other, the 2022 champion went down in the opening round of the Super 750 tournament to make it eight consecutive losses at the international circuit.
“I am struggling to consistently play my natural game. I am giving too many loose points. I come with a plan and to some extent I can execute it but to do it consistently in three games, I still have to work a lot on playing patiently for the right chances,” said Sen.
“He was a bit more confident on court and I was checking my shots a bit. I was not sharp enough to get an opening. He was playing half smashes and drops to finish the rallies.”
The loss also opens the race for the second Olympic spot. Two Indians, if ranked in the top 16 by April 30, can qualify for Paris 2024. While HS Prannoy remains the frontrunner at world No.9, the spot is wide open with many tournaments lined up in the next four months. While Sen is ranked No.19, former world No.1 Srikanth is No.25 with No.30 Rajawat also throwing in his hat on Tuesday.
“It is not too far away. I want to qualify for Olympics this year. There are a few tournaments and I can cover the points. So I would look to win and make it,” Rajawat said.
Rajawat will next face another Indian in Round 2 on Thursday in the form of eighth seed Prannoy, who beat Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen 21-6, 21-19.