Lakshya Sen made history at the Paris Olympics 2024 when he became the first Indian shuttler to reach the semifinals of the Summer Games. He was in touching distance of a medal but somehow failed at the last steps.
The disappointing thing was that in both the semi-final and the bronze medal match, Lakshya had a commendable lead against his opponents. But pressure got to him and he lost in the end.
His mentor Prakash Padukone was visibly angry after the matches. After all, who will be happy after losing 7 point lead against World No.1? The Indian shuttler opened up about his loss to Viktor Axelsen and stated that he would improve.
‘I Tried But…’
In the bronze medal match, Lakshya won the first set against Lee Zii Jia. But courtesy of some silly mistakes, he lost the next two sets and it ultimately cost him the bronze medal.
He stated, “In the second game, that side of the court had some drift. Even after the lead, I knew I couldn’t control the shuttle. And then the momentum suddenly changed, and he started playing better. Even when he drew level, I was fighting for every point.”
He also stated that he was happy that his strategy worked against Axelsen at the start. “But in crucial situations, I could’ve played differently. I didn’t play well at all in the end, and there were a lot of unforced shots (errors). I needed to be a bit more patient.”
What’s Next For Lakshya Sen?
The Indian shuttler was proud of his achievement at Paris but admitted that it would hurt for a while. He further stated that he would change a lot of things going forward.
“Overall, in how I played, there were some things I was happy and proud about at Paris. But this is gonna hurt for some time. I’m looking to add and change a lot of things moving forward.”
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