Star shuttler Lakshya Sen opened up on Tuesday about his heartbreaking loss in the final of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham. Having tamed strong opponents, he fell short in the final on Sunday, losing to Lin Chun-Yi.

Lakshya admitted that his semi-final encounter against Victor Lai, which lasted one hour and 37 minutes, did take a toll on his body.

“The semi-final I played took a toll on my body, with the cramps I had. I did everything I could to recover well and come back fresh for the final, but it was tough to get back to 100 percent,” Lakshya said during a virtual interaction on Tuesday,

“The whole week had been demanding with long matches from the very first day and the muscles got tired. Even during the semi-final, I was cramping a lot and the fatigue was still there in the final,” Lakshya added.

“Of course, my opponent was also playing his fifth match of the week, but I just tried to give it my all and do my best,” Lakshya said.

The Indian shuttler began his campaign at the All England this year with a massive win against top seed Shi Yu Qi in a three-game thriller. Lakshya followed it up with a victory over Ng Ka Long Angus. He stunned sixth-seed Li Shi Feng in a gripping three-game thriller and followed it up with a win against Lai, defeating him 21-16, 18-21, 21-15, before losing the finals.

“I was just focusing on one match at a time and not thinking about the draw or who else was playing. When I stepped on the court, my only focus was on my match on that day,” Lakshya said.

“It’s been a good week overall, but also an emotional week. Getting into the final for the second time and not winning, I felt a bit disheartened after the match. But overall, if I look back at the tournament, some good wins, a good run and the way I played, I think there is something to look forward to in the coming tournaments.”

He said managing workload has also become crucial as the calendar grows increasingly demanding. “I’ve had some shoulder injuries that affected my attacking shots in recent times.”

With the Asian Championships and the World Championships among the major targets this season, Lakshya said: “I will try to sharpen things especially on court and also focus on staying fit throughout the season because there are lots of major events coming.”