On August 2, Lakshya Sen made history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semifinals at the 2024 Olympics. In a remarkable performance, Lakshya, who has been in stellar form throughout the Paris Games, secured a comeback victory over 12th seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei. At 22, he stands as India’s sole hope in badminton after the exits of prominent players like Satwik-Chirag and PV Sindhu.
Lakshya Sen will face a familiar opponent in the semifinals, Viktor Axelsen. The two have a shared history, as Lakshya trained with the former World No. 1 in Dubai after being dropped from the Thomas Cup team.
According to his coach, Vimal Kumar, Lakshya gained valuable insights from the Danish star during their training sessions. The head-to-head record heavily favours Viktor Axelsen, who has won 7 of their 8 encounters.
Lakshya Sen’s sole victory over the current World No. 2 came in the 2022 German Open semi-finals, where he won 21-13, 12-21, 22-20. In their most recent matchup at the Singapore Open 2024, Axelsen triumphed in a closely contested round-of-32 clash, winning 21-13, 16-21, 21-13.
The semifinal match between Lakshya Sen and Viktor Axelsen at the Paris Olympics 2024 is scheduled for August 4, Sunday, and will take place not before 12 PM IST. It will be the second semifinal of the day, following the first semifinal between Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Jia Zii Lee.
Recapping Lakshya’s match with Chou Tien Chen, the first set was a neck-and-neck battle, creating an electrifying atmosphere throughout the arena. The intensity of the smashes from Chou and Lakshya’s elegant defensive shots was a delight for the fans. The first set began on a back-and-forth note. Chou took a couple of points, and Sen fought back, picking up two consecutive points to restore parity at 2-2.
Three consecutive powerful smashes from Chou allowed him to enjoy a three-point buffer over the Indian shuttler.
The lengthy rallies continued, and Lakshya started to take control in the opening set. With an exquisite crosscourt smash, Lakshya once again levelled the score at 5-5. Lakshya continued to ride high on the momentum and went ahead for the first time in the first set, 6-5. Chou quickly bounced back to restore parity after his drop shot glanced off the net, which Lakshya was unable to return.
For the next point, a 51-stroke rally kept the fans glued to the screen. In the end, Lakshya emerged victorious and once again levelled the score at 7-7. Chou took back-to-back points, and Lakshya responded with an excellent smash to level the game at 9-9. From that point, Chou upped the ante and took five consecutive points to go ahead in the game. By claiming four consecutive points, Lakshya fought back to keep the first set alive at 15-15.
The Indian shuttler took three consecutive points to take a step closer to making history. But Chou’s relentless attacking play helped him overtake Lakshya and seal the first set with a 19-21 win.
After a gripping opening set, Lakshya fought hard in the second set and lured Chou into making errors. He raced to a 4-1 lead, but Chou asserted dominance with his pinpoint smashes.
Chou went ahead with a two-point lead at 7-9. Lakshya didn’t let his shoulders drop and replied by showcasing amazing levels of athleticism. After trailing briefly, Lakshya went ahead and didn’t leave room for Chou to make a comeback. He capped off an impressive display by sealing the second set with a 21-15 win. In the decider, once again, Chou exercised early dominance, but Lakshya dug deep and overcame the challenge to become the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semi-finals of the men’s singles event at the Olympics.
