Paris : Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen crashed out of Badminton Men’s Singles semi final after a tough fought battle against World Number 2 Viktor Axelsen 20-22, 14-21, which could have gone either ways. The Match took the better of Viktor, at a point he also seemed to be on backfoot. Viktor therefore remarked this close match to be his ‘toughest match at Paris’.
What happened in the match?
In both sets, Lakshya started with sheer dominance, leading the charts 20-17, 7-0 respectively. However, Viktor came back stronger & won both the sets 20-22, 14-21 respectively, with Lakshya succumbing to pressure & crashing out from Gold Medal contention.
What did Viktor Axelsen say about Lakshya Sen?
TOUGHEST BATTLE IN PARIS
World number 2 Viktor Axelsen had nothing but praises for Lakshya Sen. He regarded this hard fought battle in semi final as his toughest fight in this Olympics.
“Definitely (the toughest match for me in Paris so far). Lakshya started so well, but I was able to relax in the 2nd game”, said Viktor in post match interview.
GOLD MEDAL CONTENDER IN L.A.OLYMPICS 2028
Lakshya who had been in tremendous form in this Olympics and raced his way with sheer dominance to semi final was one of the biggest Gold/Silver medal hopes for India. Viktor who’ll now play in gold medal match in final against Chinese star Lin Dan predicted that Lakshya could be a gold medal contender for India in LA Olympics 2028.
Viktor said, “Lakshya is an amazing player. He has shown in this Olympics that he is a very, very strong competitor and I am sure in four years from now, he will be one of the favourites to win the gold. An amazing talent and a great guy and I wish him all the best,” he added.
LACK OF EXPERIENCE BEHIND LOSS
Axelsen pointed out that lack of experience costed Lakshya the match. According to him, Lakshya played better than Viktor in bigger parts of the game.
He said, “I think the experience made a difference today. I think Lakshya, he played better than I did in big parts of the game. So he could have won the match”.
What Lakshya Sen said about the loss in the match?
Sen , disappointed being lost a match from winning position , said, “If I would have closed the first game, then I would have had better chance of closing the match. In the second game also, I started well but couldn’t keep the lead.”
“As the game went on, he started attacking more and I became passive, only defending. I should have taken chances and attacked more“, Sen concluded.
