Lakshya Sen made a groundbreaking achievement at the Olympic Games by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semifinals in men’s singles badminton. While PV Sindhu had previously secured two Olympic medals and Saina Nehwal earned a bronze in the 2012 London Games, no Indian male had advanced to the medal rounds until now.
Sen’s historic feat came after a challenging victory over Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, with scores of 19-21, 21-15, and 21-12 in a grueling 76-minute match during the men’s singles quarterfinals.
Despite losing the first game after trailing 5-2 and later leveling the score at 5-5, Sen’s opponent maintained the upper hand and surged ahead to a 14-9 lead. Sen made a remarkable comeback, winning seven consecutive points to lead 17-15. However, Chen ultimately claimed the game 21-19.
In the second game, Sen took an early lead, but the Taipei player kept close. They were tied at 13-13 when Sen, a former World Championships bronze medallist, seized control, winning five straight points to create an 18-13 gap. He secured the game 21-15, forcing a decider.
In the final game, Sen dominated, taking a 9-4 lead early on. Despite attempts from his opponent to rally, Sen held his ground, winning the game 21-12 and sealing his place in the semifinals.
Sen’s next challenge will be against the winner of the match between top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
In the women’s singles quarterfinals, Japan’s fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi will face South Korea’s An Se Young, while former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will compete against Indonesia’s seventh seed, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. China’s He Bing Jiao, who eliminated India’s PV Sindhu in the pre-quarterfinals, will compete against her compatriot and second seed Chen Yu Fei. Meanwhile, 2016 Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain, the fourth seed, will face Japan’s eighth seed, Aya Ohori, for a spot in the semifinals.
