New Delhi: Indian youngster Laskhya Sen missed the opportunity to finish on podium at the Paris Olympics. He was outplayed by Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal playoff 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 at the Porte de la Chapelle arena in Paris on Monday (August 5).
Following his loss to reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the semi-final, Lakshya Sen came stronger today with some appetite in the tank. A rollicking start in the first game was a common entity that carried from the semifinal to bronze medal. The difference was that Lakshya didn’t flinch today and converted the game points with a massive lead at 21-13.
A resolute Lee rocked Lakshya’s momentum with his flurry of blistering strokes missing Lakshya’s racket. Even though the Indian was in the control of the first part of the game but the 26-year-old Lee pocketed nine consucutive points to lead at 10-8. Lee never allowed the Indian to return to an advantageous positions with the code set to drain Lakshya, who hasn’t been strong enough when it comes to mental toughness.
Lakshya left in tatters in decider
The Malaysia continued the dominance in the decider with the level of intensity surging everytime he jumped off the surface and the shuttle seemingly turned into a bullet for Lakshya as thrived to cop it off his body. A couple of powerful strokes shown by Lakshya indicated the comeback was on the cards but that wasn’t the case to continue after a medical assistance broke his rhythm.
An acrobatic dive from the Malaysian to leave the 22-year-old Indian baffle was the point of the game as Lee chipped one above his opponent’s head to win his 16th point out of nowhere. It was apparent that Lakshya ran out of steam to fightback from that juncture and the only player to walk off with a medal was the Malaysian star shuttler. He finished the game in gusto as he was never written off.
Lakshya’s loss means India’s wait for a medal in men’s singles will continue for another edition. This will be the first instance when India won’t have a single medal to show from the badminton contingent after claiming three medals in the last three editions – Saina Nehwal’s bronze in women’s singles in London Olympics 2012 and PV Sindhu’s silver and bronze in women’s singles in Rio Olympics 2016 and Tokyo Olympics 2020, respectively.
Indian youngster Laskhya Sen became the first male shuttler from the country to win an Olympics medal. He outplayed Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in straight games in the bronze medal playoff 21-13, 21- at the Porte de la Chapelle arena in Paris on Monday (August 5). Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
