Lakshya Sen made history as the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semifinals with a thrilling win over Chou Tien Chen at the Paris Games.
New Delhi: Lakshya Sen made history at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday, becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semifinals. In a gripping three-game battle, Sen secured a thrilling victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, moving one step closer to his maiden Olympic medal.
Lakshya Sen, the 22-year-old badminton sensation from Almora showcased a perfect blend of pace and precision to defeat world number 11 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, a 2022 World Championships bronze medallist. Sen triumphed with a scoreline of 19-21, 21-15, 21-12, holding his nerve during the key moments of the match. Notably, this is Sen’s first Olympic Games, and displaying such maturity and composure is truly commendable for the young prodigy.
As the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, Sen now awaits a formidable opponent in the semifinals. He will face either 2021 World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore or Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
Notably, in the history of Indian badminton at the Olympics, only women’s singles players PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have progressed beyond the quarterfinals. In men’s singles, Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth had previously reached the quarterfinals in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio editions, respectively. With his remarkable achievement, Sen has set a new benchmark and continues to inspire a generation of Indian shuttlers.