India’s number one shuttler Lakshya Sen, his family and former national coach Vimal Kumar have been charged with cheating and age fraud in an FIR (First Information Report) filed in Bengaluru.
According to media reports, the FIR has been filed by M Goviappa Nagaraja, who alleged that the 2022 Commonwealth Gold Medalist and his brother Chirag Sen had doctored their age to get into playing age-group tournaments since 2010. The FIR also names Lakshya’s parents Dhirendra Sen and Nirmala Sen in the FIR. The star shuttler’s father is a coach with the Sports Authority of India.
Vimal Kumar, the accused coach has been coaching the Sen brothers for more than 10 years.
According to the Indian Penal Code, they have been accused of cheating (Section 420), forgery (468), passing off a fake document as a legitimate one (471), and acts carried out by several people with a common intention (34).
The Sens, who are from Uttarakhand, are trained under Kumar at Bengaluru’s Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, while the complainant is the head of another academy in the city.
Lakshya, who is ranked No 6 in the world right now, received the Arjuna Award on Wednesday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The ace shuttler bagged the Bronze medal at World Championships after suffering a defeat against fellow countryman Kidambi Srikanth in 2021.
Additionally, he finished runner-up in the All England Championships and was crucial to India’s historic Thomas Cup victory earlier this year.
Lakshya is shown to be 24 years old in the lawsuit, however, his date of birth (August 16, 2001) registered with the Badminton Association of India says that he is actually three years younger.
On the other hand, his older brother Chirag, who has a BAI ID that says he is 24, is said to be 26 (22 July, 1998).
The complainant alleged that Lakshya’s alleged wrongdoing prevented several children from participating in events in their age group that offered top facilities and sponsorships.
The complainant also demanded judicial action.
Lakshya and his parents have not yet reacted to the issue.
