Chirag Sen: Endured pain but brother’s courage made Chirag a winner, played with the help of painkillers and became champion

When Chirag Sen went to Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy from Almora 12 years ago with younger brother Lakshya Sen, Prakash and coach Vimal Kumar were very impressed by him, but Chirag’s international debut was not good. Lakshya’s performance was excellent. Chirag’s confidence wavered. This year he decided to play doubles with Dhruv Rawat. The good results in doubles rekindled his confidence, which resulted in him becoming national champion at the end of the year. Chirag was suffering from shoulder pain during the championship due to playing 8 consecutive tournaments. He played while taking painkillers. Lakshya canceled his flight to encourage his brother.

Beat higher ranked shuttlers
Chirag won the National Championship that concluded in Guwahati by defeating higher ranked shuttlers like Kiran George and Tarun M in the finals. His brother Lakshya was playing in this tournament as the highest seed, but he lost in the quarter-finals. Lakshya was to go back to Bangalore, but when he saw elder brother Chirag reaching the semi-finals, he canceled his flight. In the semi-finals and finals, both Lakshya and his father coach DK Sen sat behind Chirag. Chirag says that the company of both boosted his morale and he won the title.

Title dedicated to father
25-year-old Chirag tells that when both the brothers started playing badminton in Almora, their father had told them that one day they would become national champions. Lakshya reached the finals twice, but lost in the title match. Father forgot this thing, but this thing was stuck in Chirag’s mind. Here Chirag became the champion and dedicated the title to his father.

Lakshya will prepare for the Olympics
Chirag, who won the Kenya International Challenge title in 2020, says that he defeated Denmark’s Matt Christopher to enter the top 50 in the Odisha Super 100 this month. This gave him a lot of confidence. Now he will play the role of Lakshya’s practice partner to help him prepare for the Olympics. He will accompany him in Indonesia Super 1000, India Open 750 and Thailand Super 500 tournaments.