Paris [France], August 4 (ANI): After his stunning performance at the ongoing Paris Olympics, ace India shuttler Lakshya Sen will be in action against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the badminton men’s singles semi-final match on Sunday.
Lakshya’s campaign at the Paris Olympics started with a dominating win over Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon in straight sets. However, the win was ‘deleted’ after Cordon pulled himself off the tournament due to an injury.
The Indian shuttler faced Belgium’s Julein Carraggi in his second group stage match and clinched an impressive 21-19, 21-14 win.
In his last Group L match, Lakshya Sen took on Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie. The 22-year-old did not face any problems while defeating his Indonesian opponent and clinched a straight set win.
Lakshya moved to the knockout stage without any trouble. In the Round of 6 game, the Indian shuttler faced his compatriot, HS Prannoy and defeated him in straight 21-12, 21-6 sets.
Before making his place in the semi-final, Lakshya locked horns against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen and clinched a 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 win.
If we talk about head-to-head records between Lakshya and Axelsen, the Danish shuttler is cleary favourite. But in sports, it’s not over until it’s over.
The two of them have faced each other eight times in singles matches, where Axelsen won seven games. The Indian shuttler’s single win against the Danish came in 2022 German Open semi-final bout, when Lakshya sealed a 21-13, 12-21, 22-20 victory.
In the 2024 Singapore Open, the two of them faced each other for the last time, and Lakshya lost narrowly by 21-13, 16-21, 21-13.
The upcoming match will be interesting as Lakshya Sen is currently in his best form and is also one of the medal contenders for India at the ongoing Summer Games.
Currently, the Indian contingent has won three bronze medals at the Paris Olympics and all of them came in shooting. (ANI)
