Paris Olympics 2024: Lakshya Sen's brave fight against Viktor Axelsen earns praise as he prepares for bronze medal match

India's hopes for its first-ever Olympic badminton gold were dashed on Sunday as 22-year-old Lakshya Sen faced a tough defeat against Denmark's Viktor Axelsen, with scores of 20-22, 14-21. Despite his valiant efforts, Sen still has a chance to make history by competing for a men's singles medal in the bronze medal match against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia.

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Sen's performance against Axelsen was characterized by intense rallies and remarkable resilience. At several points, he led in the match and it seemed likely that it could go to three games. However, the Danish player demonstrated why he is the top-ranked shuttler. Despite the loss, Indian fans on X (formerly known as Twitter) lauded the young shuttler for his courageous fight against the reigning champion.

Axelsen had an early lead in the match, but Sen rapidly changed his tactics, going from an aggressive style to one that involved precision and patience during lengthy rallies. Even with his atypical mistakes, Axelsen proved to be resilient. Sen led 20–17, but Axelsen rallied spectacularly to win 22–20 by preserving three game points.

Sen got off to a fast start in the second game, leading 7-0 while Axelsen was having trouble getting into a groove. However, the shuttler from Denmark staged a comeback and levelled the match at 10–10 with a combination of strong defence, well-timed drop shots, and potent smashes. Sen had the early edge, but Axelsen steadily overcame him to win the match 21–14 and earn a position in the Olympic final for the second time.

But don't give up on Sen just yet; he still has one more chance to make history in badminton by winning the first men's singles medal for India when he plays Lee Zii Jia for the bronze on Monday. The young man has an opportunity to become the third Indian badminton medallist at the Olympics, following Saina Nehwal (bronze in London 2012) and PV Sindhu (silver in Rio 2016, bronze in Tokyo 2020).

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