Paris Olympics 2024 Badminton: Lakshya Sen goes down to defending champion Viktor Axelsen in thrilling semifinal, set to fight for bronze

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen faced a tough challenge in the semifinals of the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics 2024, taking on defending champion Viktor Axelsen on Sunday, August 4. Despite a courageous effort, Sen couldn't overcome the second-seeded Danish player, ultimately succumbing 20-22, 14-21.

The match kicked off with Axelsen establishing an early 3-0 lead. However, Sen clawed his way back to level terms at 5-5. Both players were engaged in a series of intense rallies in which Axelsen leveraged his height to execute powerful deep smashes, while Sen demonstrated remarkable control and precision in setting up points. For the first time in the match, Sen took the lead at 7-6 and maintained it right till the mid-game interval, where he led 11-9.

Post-break, Sen extended his lead to 15-9, maintaining pressure on Axelsen with some stunning winners. However, Axelsen's champion mentality emerged as he fought back from 18-13 down to save three game points and level the game at 20-20. An unforced error from Sen handed Axelsen the game point, which he converted to win the first game 22-20.

The second game saw Sen starting strong, racing to a 3-0 lead and further extending it to 7-0. Axelsen, undeterred, mounted a comeback to close the gap to 7-8. Sen narrowly maintained his lead at the interval, leading at 11-10.

Post-interval, the two players engaged in a fierce tussle, winning points alternately. After a 12-12 deadlock, Sen committed a few unforced errors, allowing Axelsen to pull ahead to 15-12 and then to 17-13. Despite Sen's solid defense, Axelsen's relentless attacks and powerful smashes proved to be too much for Sen. The Danish shuttler closed out the game 21-14, securing his spot in the final.

Sen's journey in Paris is not over yet. He will now face Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the bronze-medal match on August 5 at 6:00 pm IST.

Lakshya Sen only remaining Indian shuttler after Satwik-Chirag, Sindhu go down early in the knockout stages at the Paris Olympics 2024

India's men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty saw their campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024 come to an end after they went down to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh in a highly contested quarterfinal clash. After winning the first game, Satwik and Chirag lost the other two to lose the match with a 21-13, 14-21, and 16-21 scoreline.

India’s PV Sindhu also went down in her pre-quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics. The two-time Olympic medalist lost 19-21, 14-21 to China’s He Bing Jiao.