Lakshya Sen To Round Of 16 At Paris Olympics: Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen has defeated World No. 3 and third-seeded Jonatan Cristie from Indonesia to make his way into the round of 16 in the men’s singles badminton event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite being one of the most exciting and promising players in world badminton right now, Sen went into the 2024 Olympics as an unseeded player. This meant that he was to be put in a group with a seeded player.
When the draws were announced, not only was the 22-year-old in Group L alongside the No. 3 seed, Cristie, but he was also in one of only four groups with four players in them.
To open his tournament, Lakshya defeated five-time Olympian Kevin Cordon from Guatemala in straight sets. But after that match, Cordon pulled out of the Olympics due to an elbow injury. That not only made this a three-player group but also made Sen’s first victory void.
Lakshya Sen To Round Of 16 At Paris Olympics
After defeating Belguim’s Julien Carraggi, Lakshya Sen took on Jonatan Cristie today with a place in the round of 16 on the line.
The Indonesian ran up a five-point lead in the early proceedings before the Indian shuttler brought it back on level terms. It was all level halfway through the set as the score was 10-10.
In what was a very tight set, no player was able to build a decent lead as the other would catch up in a point or two. The game went from 14-all to 16-all to 18-all. But Lakshya did build some steam at this point and won three points in a row to take the game home 21-18.
Sen came into this game with a negative record against Christie. Out of the five matches the two have played before, the Indian has won only one. But the only game between the two that ended in straight sets was the one won by Lakshya.
Coming to the second set, after a measured start, Lakshya took a four-point lead as the score was 7-3. From this point, the Indonesian looked to make a comeback but never came within a four-point distance from the Indian. The score went from 13-9 to 17-9 to 20-12.
Looking dominant in the second game, Sen won the match in straight sets with the score being 21-18, 21-12. This was only his second win against Cristie in five games.
With this win, Lakshya Sen has made it to the round of 16. And with the form he showed in this match, he will definitely be a medal contender at his first Olympic Games.
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The Indian badminton contingent is having a great time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yesterday, the third-seeded men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made it to the quarterfinals. Earlier today, PV Sindhu topped her group and made it to the round of 16 in the women’s singles competition.
Later today, 13th-seeded HS Prannoy will compete in a match he should win as he looks to top his group and make it to the round of 16 in the men’s singles event.
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