Badminton: Lakshya Sen becomes 1st Indian to reach Olympic men’s singles semi-final

Lakshya Sen scripted history in Paris. The 22-year-old shuttler became the first Indian man to reach the semi-final stage at the Olympics.

Lakshya defeated 12th seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in a sensational come-from-behind victory at the Paris Games, much to the delight of the Indian crowd in the packed badminton arena in the French capital.

Lakshya Sen is now one win away from confirming a medal in his maiden Olympics appearance. The Almorah shuttler is carrying the hopes of Indian badminton as he is the lone shuttle remaining in the fray at the Paris Games. Gold medal contenders Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the men’s doubles quarter-final on Thursday while two-time medalist PV Sindhu was shown the door in women’s singles Round of 16.

Lakshya Sen put on a sensational display of gritty badminton as he overcame a first-game defeat to beat Chou Tien Chen19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in an hour and 15 minutes.

Lakshya battled against the odds as an unseeded player against the 12th seed Chou, who was uncharacteristically aggressive. The straight-game win over his compatriot HS Prannoy in the Round of 16 did help as Lakshya remained fresh throughout the 75-minute contest and dug into his repository of grit to pull off a memorable victory. Lakshya clinched only his second win in five meetings against the Taiwanese shuttler, who was gutted after the valiant show.

Lakshya Sen and Chou Tien Chen engaged in long rallies from the word go as the Paris crowd settled down after pulsating medal matches in the mixed doubles category, which the Chinese pair of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong of China who beat Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun in straight games.

Both Lakshya and Chou served an Olympic classic as they pushed each other to the limits. The quality of the shot-making and retrievals was of the highest order. Both shuttlers flaunted their pace and reflexes as they were able to recover from a diving retrieval and rush to the front court, more often than not.

NECK-TO-NECK BATTLE
Lakshya and Chou did not give an inch to each other as they traded service exchanges in the opening game. It was neck-and-neck until 7-7 before Chou pulled away and took a 11-10 lead in the opening game.

Chou, who is 10 years older than Lakshya, surprised the Indian shuttler with his aggressive gameplay. The Taiwanese shutter did not hesitate to play those powerful smashes or rush to the net and put pressure on the Indian. It was quite uncharacteristic of Chou, who loves playing the long rallies and using his exemplary defence to tire out opponents. Chou gave a glimpse of his renewed approach in the Round of 16 match against fifth seed Kodai Naraoka.

Chou kept the charge going and led 14-9 in the opening game, before Lakshya decided to inject pace into his game and focus on placement. The move worked wonders as Lakshya won six points on the trot. Lakshya made it 18-16, sparking hopes of a win in the opening game. However, Chou raised his game and stunned the Indian shuttler to take the first one 21-9.

LAKSHYA PUTS BEHIND DIP IN CONCENTRATION
Lakshya was under pressure in the second game and his concentration seemingly took a hit when he argued with the chair umpire toward the mid-game interval. Lakshya called for a review of a wide call, but he apparently did not watch it on the big screen before the point was awarded to Chou. Lakshya was surprised when the chair umpire asked him to continue as the Indian shuttler kept telling he was not aware that the review was completed.

Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar, who were on the coaching bench for India, urged Lakshya to calm down. Remarkably, Lakshya did not let the little dip in concentration affect his game as he pulled away after the mid-game interval, winning the second game 15-21 in 17 minutes.

In the decider, Lakshya pulled through with his sensational energy repository as he never allowed Chou Tien to dictate the pace. With a good mix of aggression and caution, Lakshya took a 11-7 lead at the mid-game interval and closed out the game with ease at 21-12.

Lakshya let out a huge roar, facing the camera, telling the world he is here for glory. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist and the former All England finalist has put him so close to becoming the first Indian man to win an Olympic medal. He will next face the winner of another quarter-final match between reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.