Lakshya Sen was very ordinary, no excuse for his loss to Garret Tan: Coach
“Lakshya lost to a very ordinary player, and there is no excuse for this performance.”
Disappointment was evident in former chief national coach Vimal Kumar’s assessment after Lakshya Sen’s shock second-round exit at the BWF World Championships on Wednesday. Lakshya had lost 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 to world No. 92 Garret Tan in a 73-minute battle that swung wildly before the American closed it out.
For Tan, it was the game of his life. He had his return ticket booked for Friday. He will have to change that now. And that might be the best inconvenience of his young career.
The 18-year-old was a former world junior No. 1 and is still ranked seventh in the BWF junior rankings. But before arriving in Delhi, he had not made the main draw of a tour-level event, with his wins coming at International Challenge level. On Wednesday, he produced the biggest win of his senior career, holding his nerve against a home favourite and a packed crowd that had expected Lakshya to progress.
Lakshya had begun well enough. At the interval in the opening game, he led 11-10 and was able to close it out despite Tan constantly pushing him. The Indian punched the air after taking the game, a release of emotion that suggested he knew he had been tested.
Tan, though, did not let the narrow loss affect him.
He came out firing in the second game, unleashing a succession of heavy smashes that Lakshya struggled to contain. The American mixed his attack well, sending the shuttle cross-court and then straight down the line. His net game was equally assured. He was not afraid to engage Lakshya at the front and showed impressive timing and decisiveness in those exchanges.
The more troubling aspect for Lakshya was that he was not controlling the rallies.
His pushes from the front were often not deep enough, giving Tan the length he needed to attack. He was also struggling to get underneath the shuttle and play the kind of attacking, downward shots that can put an opponent under pressure.
“There was also very little initiative to get underneath the shuttle and play attacking, downward shots,” Vimal said. “He was too passive and allowed the opponent to dictate the rallies.”
“If he had played some decent, composed rallies from the beginning, he could have comfortably won the match,” he said.
“Even the basic lifts from the net to the back court lacked confidence. He did not look confident enough to sustain rallies without making mistakes, and that put him under unnecessary pressure.”
“Overall, he looked very ordinary today. This is a match he should have won.”
At 11-9 up in the second-game interval, Tan’s coaching team had a clear message: be patient with the attack.
THE AMERICAN GAME PLAN
Paula Lynn, Garret’s first coach, has known him since he was six. On Wednesday, she was in his coaching corner alongside Lauren Lam, who had herself been on court for the USA just 24 hours earlier, losing to India’s Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly in the women’s doubles.
This time, Lam was on the other side of the court, helping Tan plot the downfall of another Indian, Lakshya.
“First, I need to make him calm and patient, because most players want to rush things,” Lynn said.
“And a little bit of tactic-wise — whatever Lakshya was doing, we told him.”
The American camp had identified Lakshya’s strength at the front of the court and wanted Tan to stay away from it.
“Lakshya is very good at putting a lot of pressure on Garreth in the front,” Lynn said.
“So that’s why we wanted to keep him away from the front.”
They had also noticed the drift and the difference between the two sides of the court. Tan had been prepared for it since the previous day.
“His speciality is that he’s a controlled power player,” Lynn said.
“When he’s tall, he can jump really high and is very powerful.”
The American followed the plan. He never allowed Lakshya to take the lead in the second game, closing it 21-19 to take the match into a decider.
The first signs of frustration from Lakshya came soon after. He threw his racquet in frustration and was warned by the chair umpire. Then came a disastrous start to the third game.
Tan raced to an 8-2 lead.
His smashes were landing with frightening regularity, while his pushes and changes of direction kept Lakshya guessing. The American looked increasingly comfortable, while Lakshya appeared jaded.
The crowd tried to drag him back into the contest.
“Let’s go Lakshya, let’s go,” rang around the arena. For the first time this week, the drums could be heard.
Tan later admitted the noise got to him at the start of the third game, when he was leading 8-2.
Lakshya, as he has done so often, refused to go quietly. From 4-12, he won six straight points to reduce the deficit to 10-12. One rally stretched to 41 shots as the match became a test of endurance as much as nerve.
Tan’s attack began to lose some of its bite. He struggled to follow up his smashes, allowing Lakshya to retrieve more often. Both players were tiring, and the Indian’s stamina was beginning to bring him back into the contest. Then came a medical timeout after Tan appeared to hit his head while making a diving retrieve.
The break did little to change the destination. Tan reached 20-16. Lakshya saved one match point, but there would be no dramatic escape.
The 18-year-old finished it 21-17 and stood still for a moment, almost unable to process what he had done.
“I’m still speechless right now,” Tan said.
“I just… I can’t believe I’m playing tomorrow.”
Lakshya was more measured, but the disappointment was clear.
“I think overall it was a very hard-fought match and… yeah, I gave it my all, whatever I had in the tank,” he said. “Towards the end of third set, I was also exhausted, physically.”
Tan, meanwhile, has a new memory to carry with him. He came to Delhi as a former junior world No. 1 who had yet to make a mark in the senior game. He left the court having beaten a 14th seed, survived a comeback from a packed home crowd and earned another day at the World Championships.
– Ends
