Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen is facing a setback ahead of the Thailand Open, scheduled to be held in Bangkok from May 12 to 17, after suffering an elbow injury during the Thomas Cup in Denmark.

Lakshya confirmed that he underwent scans after returning from Denmark and is currently awaiting the doctors’ assessment before making a decision on his upcoming tournament schedule.

“The injury is getting better now but I have just come back last night and I did some scans in the mornings as well. I will now go to the doctor and then have a word with him and then decide on how to go about the (upcoming) tournaments,” he said.

He further added, “I'm supposed to play the Thailand Open next week, but again still waiting for the confirmation from the doctor."

"...as I've taken the MRI scans now so just waiting for his opinion on that and then we'll get a clearer idea on the tournament.”

Lakshya elaborated on the injury, explaining that his adrenaline was running so high during the quarterfinal that he did not fully register its seriousness.

"The injury happened in the first set of the match against Chou Tien-chen. I couldn't realize it at that time. It hurt for the next 2-3 points when I dived. But after that, I completely forgot, and the adrenaline was so high that I couldn't focus on that," he said. 

Lakshya’s impact on the Thomas Cup campaign

Lakshya Sen nonetheless completed India’s Thomas Cup quarterfinal tie despite the injury, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen in a gripping three-game contest. He prevailed 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 in an intense 88-minute battle.

Right after the match, Lakshya had noticed the swelling in his elbow. He was ruled out of the semifinal against France as a precautionary measure.

India competed at the semifinals without Lakshya but eventually suffered a 0-3 defeat to France, bringing its campaign to a close with a bronze medal. His absence prompted last-minute changes to the team combination.

Another leading Indian shuttler, HS Prannoy, reflected on the impact of Lakshya’s absence on the team’s chances.

“Definitely, we were stronger as a team if the tie had gone to the fourth and fifth match. So I still believe that if Lakshya had been in the semi-final for us, things would have been different.”

He added, “But, I think it's unfortunate that he (Lakshya) couldn't play. He was down with an injury and I think we had to respect that considering that it was such a big tournament and he had already done his job getting us that big win against (Chinese-Taipei's) Chou Tien-chen (in the quarter-finals).”

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Sahil Prashar