India, March 9 -- Watching Lakshya Sen play at the All England Open brought back memories of him at his best; memories that had dimmed in a spate of first-round exits. The dip in form was so acute that both, player and coaching team, were stumped.

At the Paris Olympics, he lost a clearly winnable semi-final against Dane Viktor Axelsen. He then gave away an almost won match against Malaysian Lee Zii Jia in the bronze playoff, which seemed to take a mental toll on him. After the Games, losses in some very tough, close matches seemed to throw him off even more.

The Lakshya that the nation was banking on seemed like a thing of the past. Until now.

Just like in 2022, the Almora-born player is in the middle of a purple patch. In the second h...