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Lakshya Sen keeps badminton medal hopes alive
Sen's triumph comes as Indian hopes were dashed when women's singles champion PV Sindhu and men's doubles partners Ranki Reddy and Chirag Shetty both failed to make it past the round of 16.
Lakshya Sen progresses to men's singles semifinal in Paris. / X/@WeAreTeamIndia
Ace badminton player Lakshya Sen's quarterfinal victory over Taipei's Tien Chen Chou on Aug.2 rekindled Indian aspirations of a medal outside shooting.
Unseeded Sen won 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 for a berth in the semi-finals even after losing the first set to his 12th-seeded opponent Tien Chen Chou. Tien won 21-19 not before Lakshya put everything into his game.
As he hoped to win the men's badminton medal for the first time ever, Sen shifted gears in the second set, taking the lead and holding on. He put Tien Chen Chou in a bind with his pinpoint placements and drop shots. He kept up his pace after taking the second set 21–15, even though his opponent began to show indications of exhaustion.
In the last set, Sen took a commanding 9-3 lead and kept his opponent on the run as he extended his lead. Exhibiting superior court craft and better stamina, Sen ultimately prevailed over his opponent with ease in the third and final set. He won 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in 76 minutes to become the first Indian male badminton player to qualify for the medal round.
Sen's triumph comes as Indian hopes were dashed when women's singles champion PV Sindhu and men's doubles partners Ranki Reddy and Chirag Shetty both failed to make it past the round of 16.
HISTORY SCRIPTED
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 2, 2024
st ever Indian Men’s Singles shuttler to reach #Olympics semifinal
Proud of you Lakshya, keep it up!
: @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @Arunlakhanioffi #Paris2024#IndiaAtParis24#Cheer4Bharat#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/OzyZaIiwOL
It was a day that brought many cheers to Indian camp. The new sports icon Manu Bhaker qualified for the medal round in the 25 m Air Pistol event while the men's hockey team scripted history by recording an impressive 3-2 win over Australia after a gap of 52 years. In archery, though the Indian mixed team missed a medal, it finished fourth.
At the end of day seven, though India still had only bronze medals to its credit, its chances of swelling the tally received a boost with some good performances of the hockey team and shuttler Lakshya Sen.
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