 "Lakshya Sen lost 20-22, 14-21 to Viktor Axelsen in the badminton semi-finals. Reuters")
Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen suffered a semi-final defeat on Sunday at the Paris Olympics 2024 as he went down fighting against reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. The 22-year-old unseeded shuttler lost 20-22, 14-21 to the world number two player despite securing significant leads at different stages of the match.
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Despite the defeat, Sen continues to be in the hunt for a medal and will face Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match on Monday (5 August) at 6 PM IST. The world number seven Lee Zii Jia lost to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 14-21, 15-21 in the other semi-final.
In the semi-final contest, the odds were stacked in the favour of Axelsen, but Sen came out all guns blazing in the first game, inspired by his straight-game win over higher-ranked Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan in the last-eight contest.
While Axelsen enjoyed a significant height and reach advantage over Sen, the Indian matched the Olympic medallist’s intensity and took an 11-9 lead midway through the first game and later made it 15-9, winning six points on a trot.
At 20-17, Sen had three match points but unforced errors, and Axelsen’s strategy to involve the Indian in long rallies saw the Dane win the game 22-20.
Sen started the second game even more brightly, taking a 7-0 lead before Axelsen got the first point on the board and launched a comeback. Sen led 11-10 midway through the game but by then he was running out of steam as Axelsen took control of the match and started unleashing quick smashes to clinch the game 21-14 and the match.
After his victory, Axelsen had no qualms in admitting that the semi-final was his toughest match so far in the Paris Olympics.
“This was definitely the toughest match for me in Paris Olympics so far. Lakshya started so well, but I was able to relax in the second game. I am sure four years from now, Lakshya Sen will be one of the favourites for gold in LA 2028, he has shown during these Games why he is such a strong contender," Axelsen told JioCinema.
Axelsen will take on Vitidsarn in the final on Monday.