Lakshya Sen made history in Paris. The 22-year-old shuttler became the first Indian man to reach the Olympics semi-finals. Lakshya overcame Taiwan’s 12th seed Chou Tien Chen in a thrilling comeback triumph, much to the joy of the Indian spectators in the French capital’s crowded badminton arena.
Lakshya one win away from a historic Olympics medal
Lakshya Sen is one win away from securing a medal in his first Olympics appearance. The Almorah shuttler represents Indian badminton as the only shuttle surviving in the Paris Games.
Gold medal contenders Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the men’s doubles quarterfinals on Thursday, while two-time winner PV Sindhu was eliminated in the women’s singles round of 16.
Also read: Paris Olympics: Dhiraj-Ankita fall agonisingly short of historic archery medal
Lakshya showed nerves of steel
Lakshya Sen put on a remarkable show of gritty badminton, winning 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in an hour and 15 minutes after losing in the first game.
Lakshya faced the odds as an unseeded player against 12th seed Chou, who was very aggressive. The straight-game triumph over his compatriot HS Prannoy in the Round of 16 certainly helped, as Lakshya remained fresh throughout the 75-minute encounter and dug deep into his reservoir of guts to pull off a historic victory.
Lakshya claimed only his second victory in five encounters against the Taiwanese shuttler, who was devastated by the brave performance.
Also read: Paris Olympics: India defeat Australia to end 52-year drought in Hockey
Lakshya-Chou match proved to be a ‘Classic’
Both Lakshya and Chou delivered an Olympic classic, pushing each other to their utmost. The shot-making and retrieval were of the greatest level.
Both shuttlers demonstrated their speed and reflexes by recovering from diving retrievals and rushing to the front court on numerous occasions.
Also read: Paris Olympics: PV Sindhu bows out after tough loss to Bing Jiao
Lakshya Sen and Chou Tien Chen engaged in long rallies right from the start as the Paris crowd settled down after exciting medal match in the mixed doubles category, won by China’s Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong, who defeated Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun in straight games.
After the win, Lakshya Sen let out a huge roar as he faced the camera, letting the world know he has come for the glory. The Commonwealth Games gold winner and former All England finalist has come close to becoming the first Indian man to win an Olympic medal.
Lakshya will then face the winner of the quarter-final match between defending Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
