India's star badminton player Lakshya Sen went down fighting against the world no.2 Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics 2024. The reigning Olympic champion proved too strong for the young Indian shuttler with a 22-20, 21-14 win in the men's singles semi-final.
The 22-year-old Lakshya threw away a 16-11 lead in the opening set and a 7-0 lead in the second game against the two-time Olympic medalist. Lakshya still remains in contention for a bronze medal match where he faces the seventh-seeded Zii Jia Lee of Malaysia tomorrow.
Lakshya remains India's only hope for a badminton medal in Paris after early exits for medal hopefuls PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Lakshya knocked out HS Prannoy in the men's singles round of 16 while Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a women's doubles group-stage exit after losing all three matches.
Axelsen struggled for a start in both games but kept his calm despite trailing 0-7 in the second game. After the game, he praised Lakshya for giving him a tough fight in the early stages and predicted a bright future for the rising Indian star.
“Lakshya Sen is an amazing Player," Axelsen said. "He gives me the toughest fight. He is a great guy and he has a bright future. And I’m sure he will win a gold medal in the future”.
India has won a badminton medal in each of the last three editions at the Summer Games with Saina Nehwal winning bronze in the 2012 London Games and PV Sindhu claiming a silver in Rio 2016 and bronze in the last Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Prannoy set India's best achievement in men's event in badminton at the Olympics after securing the semi-final berth and will become the first male shuttler to win a medal if he emerges victorious in the bronze medal clash.
