No to badminton, yes to fencing: Aryan, cousin of Lakshya Sen, eyes gold in Khelo India Youth Games

Aryan may be the first cousin of World Championship bronze medallist and Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya but the fencer draws his inspiration from much closer home.

Representative Image: Aryan Sen won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships 2022 and is aiming for a gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games in Madhya Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

A first cousin of badminton star Lakshya Sen, Aryan Sen is seeking to make it big in the sport of fencing and eyeing a gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022, Madhya Pradesh.

MP is hosting the fifth edition of Khelo India Youth Games from January 30 to February 11.

Aryan may be the first cousin of World Championship bronze medallist and Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya and his brother Chirag, who plays the shuttle sport, but the fencer draws his inspiration from much closer home.

“My mother Sonali Sen was the first to introduce me to two-three different kinds of sports because she was a sportsperson herself. She was a national champion in table tennis,” said Aryan, recalling his initiation into fencing.

“From there I took to fencing and have been at it since 2015,” he added.

That was when he was all of 10 years old.

Today, Aryan is already an international medal winner for the country.

“I won bronze in the Asian Championships last year,” he said of the Asian Cadet Championships in Uzbekistan last February.

Aryan won the medal along with “good friend” Lokesh Vemani from Telangana and two others in the men’s epee team event.

“I remember committing some mistakes in my duel early on because of which I fell behind and could not recover. Kazakhstan won gold and the hosts won silver,” he reminisced.

He is now looking forward to catching up with Lokesh again, with whom he said he has developed a good relationship and pits him as one of the strong medal contenders at the KIYG MP.

Aryan is clear about his target from his first KIYG -- this is the fifth edition of the national multi-sport event for athletes aged 18 and under.

“I want to win gold,” he said confidently.

However, he is also looking beyond the Games.

“I have another Khelo India ranking tournament coming up in Cuttack after this and then I also have to appear for the trials of the Asian Championships as I am among the top six in the country.

“I also aim to qualify for the senior nationals from the state this year and do well in the selection trials as well,” said Aryan.