Paris Olympics 2024: Lakshya Sen Goes Down Fighting Against Viktor Axelsen, To Play Bronze-Medal Match

Paris: India’s hope for a badminton gold medal at the Olympics went up in smoke after Lakshya Sen went down fighting against Danish Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles semifinals on Sunday. Leading twice in both games, the Indian squandered the advantage to lose 20-22, 14-21 to bow out of the gold or silver medal contention. However, Sen will get one more chance to take home a medal when he takes on Malaysian Lee Zii Jia in the bronze-medal match.

India have never won an Olympic gold medal in badminton with PV Sindhu claiming a silver and bronze at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and Saina Nehwal securing a bronze in the London Games. If Sen successfully beat Lee Zii Jia on Monday, the 22-year-old will become the first Indian male shuttler to win an Olympic medal.

Meanwhile, Axelsen heaped high praise for the youngster. “I am sure 4 years from now, Lakshya will be one of the favourites to win the Gold medal in LA 2028 Olympics,” said the Dane. “Lakshya Sen is an incredible talent. It was my toughest match today,” he added.

Sen was leading 17-11 in the opening game and managed to grab three game points but he imploded thereafter and a series of unforced errors handed the initiative to Axelsen. “If you start to think, then you have problems. And I think Lakshya, he thought a lot about it. It was a big thing for him obviously, I know what the rings does to you mentally,” the Dane said.

“He was maybe, starting to think, ‘oh, if I grab this set then I have the momentum, I have a big chance’. But again, it’s so natural to think like that. I’ve been there myself and I think he got a little bit nervous. And when you get nervous, I know that I have to strike and I have to keep the shot on the court and play the right shots because then he will maybe make a mistake because of nerves,” he added.