Garima Sharma, Pune
Lakshya Sen made history by reaching the semi-finals of the badminton men’s singles on Friday against Chou Tien Chen. The 22-year-old defeated Chou in the quarterfinals by 3-1. With this historical win, he became the first Indian male shuttler to enter the semi-finals at the Olympics.
“I’m going to rest for a bit and then I will start preparing for the next match,” said Lakshya in a post match interview. Earlier, he reached the quarterfinals after defeating world no. 3 Jonatan Christie by 4-1.
It was a neck-to-neck battle between Lakshya and Chou. There were times when Chou adopted an aggressive approach and did not hesitate to play his powerful smashes that made it a bit difficult for Lakshya.
In the first game, Chou led the game by 14-9 and Sen, who was under pressure, focused on the placement and tried to add some pace into his game. However, he was bested in this set.
Lakshya won the second game in 17 minutes by 21-15 as he came out aggressively and did not let a little setback in the first set shake his confidence. This game marked a crucial shift in the momentum of the game and left a hope in him to win the match.
In the decider, he pulled back and played in a defensive mode that ultimately pushed Chou on a back foot. Lakshya sealed the match by winning the final game with 21-12.
This significant milestone by Lakshya Sen was celebrated with a roar towards the camera. Sen will be facing the reigning Olympic champion, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semi-finals scheduled on August 4th. Viktor won the other quarter final against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore and has been in his dominating mode in the tournament so far. In 2022, Sen won against Axelsen in the German Open which was a very tense battle between the two as the match was decided on the deuce point of the third game. However, he could not win against the Danish player in the Singapore open earlier this year. This time he is hoping to win his debut Olympic game.