Same coaches. Same support teams, Same ambition to progress. But the all-India encounters on the BWF Tour have an edgy fun side to them at all times.
Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu were brilliant ‘hi-bye’ rivals, and brought the best out of each other giving India several medals in their healthy upwomanship. For the men, it’s slightly more complicated. They are friends, Thomas Cup teammates, co travellers on long flights crisscrossing the world. But also with clean ambitions of titles and wins. And compelling playing styles to watch. You don’t need to crunch on popcorn. The badminton suffices.
So when Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty square off, there will be a tingling edge to the rivalry. After he ousted World No 9 and fifth seed Kodai Naraoka, Shetty told BWF about his next opponent, “We are going for dinner tonight. Not sure we will speak about the match. I played him recently at a domestic tournament and I won in three games. Hopefully I can flip the result this time.” That was Lakshya Sen, he’s talking of.
It’s an inevitability – but the next generation has fetched up, and will now try to dislodge Lakshya Sen from the India No 1 perch, where he’s holding on to Top 20. There’s Shetty ofcourse, but also Sathish Karunakaran and Tharun Mannepalli, as Sen becomes the senior, with a mark on his back.
As such, the India No 1 tag doesn’t carry much significance in a non Games year with no team Championships after Sudirman was a disaster. But if rising in rankings means, having to battle seniors then it must be done. So, Ayush, coached by the same set of mentors as Sen, finds himself ready to challenge for the tag, though everyone concerned knows the real aim is to beat the Shi Yuqis and Li Shifengs and Viktors and Kunlavuts.
Ayush got past Kodai Naraoka though, a notoriously difficult man for Indians to beat. “He has a good defense so I needed to break through it, keep the attack on. Starting strong in the third game was crucial. I was on the better side of the court. The hall’s a bit windy but I’m loving it here,” he told BWF.
Sen meanwhile has been carrying the weight of the mark on his back. And it’s invariably HS Prannoy who he comes up against – at the Olympics, and even at Hong Kong this past week. Prannoy has the game to take out anyone in the world, but his fitness can waver. Also Sen tends to crank up his endgame intensity and leads 6-3 in career Head to Heads.
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They are extremely good friends off the court, but Prannoy last beat Sen in Jan of ’23, and hasn’t managed to win last three times, Olympics, India Open included. But Sen took 68 minutes to down him. And Shetty with his bombastic attack, will pose similar questions.
Indians recently witnessed Unnati Hooda defeating PV Sindhu, and there’s curiosity over who can beat Sen in men’s singles.
Sen could never beat Kidambi Srikanth on the international circuit (0-3), though they last met in June of 23 at Indonesia. Priyanshu Rajawat and Sen are 1-1 apiece, though the mini SriKi has the last win at India Open in ’24.
Shetty meanwhile is 2-1 ahead of Srikanth, India’s finest attacking player, 2-1 against Sankar Muthusamy Subramaniam, India’s defensive challengers. Surprisingly, he trails Sathish Karunakaran, the other tall hybrid attacking player, still chiseling his offense, 0-4.
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All-India matches always produce exciting no holds barred badminton and a contrast of skills. The Lakshya Sen-Ayush Shetty match at Hong Kong promises another humdinger. At World No 31, Shetty is pushing in rankings as well. While both train together at Bangalore, but no coach expected in Friday as is tradition, Shetty has been second fiddle these last few years with all focus on Sen. With both looking in fine settle and capable of annoying the other, a grand match off is expected at 5 pm IST.
