Lakshya Sen storms into quarterfinals of Paris Olympics men’s singles | News Paris Olympics 2024

NEW DELHI: Lakshya Sena rising star in Indian badminton, achieved a resounding victory against his compatriot HS-Beautifuladvancing to the quarter finals of the Olympic Games badminton tournament in Paris on Thursday.
The 22-year-old sensation from Almora showed his qualities on the court and won in two games with 21-12 and 21-6. Sen’s impressive performance lasted only 39 minutes and showed his dominance over world number 13 Prannoy.
With this victory, Sen wrote his name in the annals of Indian badminton history, becoming only the third male player from the country to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic badminton competition, PTI reported.
The young shuttler, who has a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships to his name, now joins the elite company of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth. Kashyap had achieved the feat at the 2012 London Olympics while Srikanth reached the quarter-finals at the 2016 Rio edition.

As world number 22, Sen now faces a formidable opponent in the quarterfinals: the 12th-seeded Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei. The upcoming match promises to be an exciting encounter, testing Sen’s skills and determination on the world stage.
“I think having tough matches gives you confidence. I am now ready to go deep into the tournament. It will be a tough match against Chou, I have to recover well and give 100%,” Sen said after the match.
Sen showed consistency in his defensive play and varied his attacking strategies effectively. On the other hand, Prannoy, who had played in a three-game match the previous evening, looked tired and offered little resistance during the 39-minute encounter.
Prannoy’s Olympic career came to an end despite his remarkable recovery from a recent bout of Chikungunya, which allowed him to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
Sen took an early lead of 7-4 and remained in control throughout the match. Prannoy seemed to struggle, adopting an overly defensive approach, constantly trying to catch up. Sen won the first game with ease.
The second game was over in no time, with Sen showing his fine form and quickly securing victory after maintaining his lead from start to finish.