Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone had predicted Lakshya Sen's rise almost a decade ago

New Delhi, India

Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone had predicted ace Indian shuttler Lakhshya Sen's rise in badminton almost a decade ago. 20-year-old Sen, who has been hailed by many as the future of Indian badminton, recently became only the fifth shuttler from the country to reach the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships.

Sen joined the likes of Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Saina Nehwal and Prakash Nath in an elite list of Indian players, who have played the final of the world's oldest and most prestigious badminton tournament. Indian badminton great Padukone, who is one of the only two shuttlers from the country to have won the All England title, had foreseen Sen's success.

Former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha recently recalled in a Twitter post, how Prakash Padukone once told him that Sen would go on to "conquer the world". Padukone's prediction had come around a decade ago when Sen had moved to his academy in Bengaluru for training.

"A decade back when we started supporting a tiny @lakshya_sen and shifted him to PPBA Bangalore, Prakash Padukone sir told me that one day this boy will conquer the world,"  Rasquinha wrote in a tweet on Saturday while sharing pictures of a young Sen with Padukone and him at the latter's academy in Bengaluru.

Rasquinha revealed he had laughed off Padukone's prediction at the time but Sen has forced him to change his mind. "I laughed. But he obviously wasn't joking," wrote the former India hockey team captain.

Also Read: Viktor Axelsen defeats India's Lakshya Sen in final to clinch men's singles title at All England Open 2022

Rasquinha is also the CEO of the non-profit organisation Olympic Gold Quest, which was co-founded by Padukone. Olympic Gold Quest is an organisation that aims to identify sporting talents from across India and nurture them to bring glory at the Olympics.

On Sunday, Sen went down fighting against the reigning Olympic champion and world no.1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the men's singles final of the All England Open 2022. Sen lost against Axelsen 10-21 and 15-21 in straight sets but his remarkable show throughout the tournament earned him plaudits from all corners.

Also Read: 'You've shown remarkable grit': PM Modi lauds Lakshya Sen for spirited fight in All England Open final

The 20-year-old was bidding to become only the third Indian after his mentor Padukone and the legendary Pullela Gopichand to win the prestigious tournament but Axelsen proved too good against him in the final. Nonetheless, the future looks bright for Sen, who has a long career ahead of him and has already stunned some of the best shuttlers in the world with his impressive performances.