Paris Olympics 2024: Lakshya's SEN-sational win seals semi-final spot; Indian fans say 'forgot about cricket today'

With hearts in their mouths, after he lost the first game, fans were on the edge of their seats watching Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen make history by securing a place in the semi-finals of the badminton tournament at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. He becomes the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semi-finals after defeating the formidable Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling quarterfinal match with scores of 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.

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Although Sen was close to winning the opening game, he lost it 21-19. He made a strong comeback with a dominant performance in the second set, winning 21-15. In the decisive third game, Lakshya was the first to reach five points, though his opponent kept the score tight. Nevertheless, the Indian shuttler managed to maintain his lead and won the final game 21-12, advancing to the semi-finals with a memorable victory.

Earlier, the 22-year-old Lakshya had knocked out HS Prannoy in the Round of 16 on Thursday. In the must-win group stage match, Sen pulled off a major upset as he defeated World No. 3 Jonatan Christie with scores of 21-18 and 21-12.

Fans on X (formerly known as Twitter) kept praising the young lad and are praying he makes it to the Final of the event. In fact, many even stated they were happy to miss the India versus Sri Lanka 1st ODI game for this exciting game.

Other Indian shuttlers:

The top men's doubles team in India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were shockingly eliminated in the quarter-finals, and PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympian, faced a round of 16 elimination.

In the last three Summer Games, India has won a medal in badminton. At the 2012 London Olympics, Saina Nehwal earned the nation's first badminton medal with a bronze. PV Sindhu qualified for the finals of the Rio Olympics in 2016 and won a historic silver and in Tokyo 2020, she won a bronze.

At the Paris Summer Games, Lakshya Sen needs just one more victory to give India its fourth Olympic badminton medal. The Indian team is still aiming for a gold medal in shooting, having already taken home three medals from these Games.

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