New Delhi: Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen finished fourth after facing back-to-back defeats in the Paris Olympics 2024. He was India’s last medal hope in badminton after PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj-Chirag and HS Prannoy were eliminated from the Summer Games.
Lakshya lost in the semi-final match against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and then lost against Malaysia’s Lee Zee Jia in the bronze-medal match. He came close in both matches but returned home empty-handed. He had the chance to become the first male shuttler to win a medal but unfortunately, he fell short.
Lakshya in a chat with Humans of Bombay said that he was devasted after the match and it hurt him for a while after he failed to win a medal for India.
“After the match, I was devastated. It’s going to hurt for a while that I couldn’t give India the medal at this Olympics. I knew I was going to face Viktor Axelsen in the match and the way I had prepared, things were fine. Overall, I had the right tactics. I had the right approach” Lakshya said in chat with Humans of Bombay.
He also said that he could have been a little more clinical at the crucial stages of the match “At the crucial stages I could have been a little more clinical. Now that I sit back and think, I know there are some things that I could have done better. Everything was fine, but towards the end, I wasn’t able to get there” Lakshya said in a chat with Humans of Bombay.
Deepika Padukone comforted Lakshya after the match
After the match, Lakshya’s coach Vimal Kumar and Prakash Padukone criticised him for ending India’s 12-year-medal winning streak at the Olympics. During the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also revealed that his coach took his phone away during the Summer Games. He also said that Deepika Padukone called him after the match and supported him through his rough period.
“They have been really supportive. Even after the bronze medal match, she called me and said ‘It’s fine; don’t worry. You did good.’ Prakash sir has been like a mentor and father figure to me. It’s always nice to talk to them if I want any advice or want to talk to them freely.
Shuttler Lakshya Sen revealed that he got a call from Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone after he lost the bronze-medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
