2024 Paris Olympics, badminton: India's Lakshya Sen reaches semi-finals
What's the story
India's Lakshya Sen came from behind to overcome 34-year-old Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the badminton men's singles quarter-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday. It was a closely-fought contest between the two. Chen took the first game 21-19, showing his experience. Sen fought back and dominated the scenes thereafter, winning the second game 21-15. The decider saw Sen win 21-12.
Clash
How did the first two games pan out?
The quarter-final contest saw an intense start with long rallies ruling the show. Both shuttlers were defending extremely well. At the mid-game interval, Sen was trailing 9-11. Sen stepped up after that, winning six successive points. However, Chen pulled the strings to win 21-19. In the second game, Sen led Chen 11-10 at the mid-game interval before dominating the proceedings to win 21-15.
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How did the deciding game pan out?
The deciding game saw Sen take the impetus and race to an 11-7 lead. He was superb and continued his dominance by advancing to the net. Post the mid-game interval, Sen maintained a healthy lead and saw out the contest 21-12.
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Here's the head-to-head record
This was the fifth meeting between the pair. Sen won his second encounter. Before this, Chen owned a 3-1 record over the Indian shuttler. Chen had won the pair's last clash at the 2023 BWF World Tour Singapore Open. Chen won by a 2-1 margin.
Journey
Sen's journey in Paris
Placed in Group L, Sen won all his matches. He beat Guatamela's Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in the opener. Belgium's Julien Carraggi was beaten next in a 21-19, 21-14 affair. Sen took down Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12 to showcase his credentials. In the round of 16, Sen dispatched fellow Indian HS Prannoy 21-12, 21-6. And now, he won in three games versus Chen.
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
🇮🇳🔥 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚! An absolutely brilliant performance from Lakshya Sen as he becomes the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semi-final in the men's singles event at the Olympics.
— India at Paris 2024 Olympics (@sportwalkmedia) August 2, 2024
🏸 A very evenly contested match between the two players but Lakshya's resilience… pic.twitter.com/FeD9ZhXcwD