History Created! Lakshya Sen Becomes 1st Indian Shuttler To Qualify For Men’s Singles

India’s Lakshya Sen made history on Friday by reaching the men’s singles semi-finals at the Paris 2024 badminton tournament, overcoming an Olympic bronze medallist after a tough match. Unseeded Sen defeated Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei, the Tokyo 2020 bronze winner and 12th seed, in a thrilling three-game match with scores of 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.

Sen is the first Indian to reach the men’s singles semi-finals at the Summer Games, surpassing the achievements of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the quarter-finals at London 2012 and Rio 2016, respectively.

Chou, ranked 11th in the world, initially led 5-2, holding off Sen’s attacks. Despite some strong plays from Sen, Chou maintained a 15-11 lead. Sen fought back with six consecutive points, but Chou narrowly won the first game 21-19.

In the second game, Sen kept pace with Chou, leading 11-10 at the break and then adopting an aggressive strategy to secure an 18-13 advantage, eventually winning the game to force a decider.

In the final game, Sen surged ahead to a 9-4 lead as Chou began to tire and make errors, allowing Sen to gain eight match points and ultimately secure the victory.

ALSO Read: PV Sindhu Announces Break from Sport After Loss In Paris Olympics 2024

Lakshya Sen, a bronze medallist at the World Championships, topped his men’s singles group and defeated world No. 4 Jonatan Christie. He also beat fellow Indian HS Prannoy in the round of 16 on his Olympic debut.

Sen will next face the winner of the quarter-final match between defending champion Victor Axelsen of Denmark and 10th-seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the Paris 2024 Olympics.