Lakshya Sen bronze medal match result: Did Lakshya win bronze at Paris Olympics 2024?
The Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024 included 117 athletes participating in a variety of sporting events, and ace shuttler Lakshya Sen was among those expected to bring home a medal in his debut Olympic appearance in the French capital.
The 22-year-old badminton player from Almora, Uttarakhand, made history by reaching the men’s singles semi-final round in Paris but suffered heartbreak after losing to world No. 2 Viktor Axelsen. Although, he had the chance to return from Paris with a bronze medal, facing Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, he ultimately fell short, losing 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 to end his debut Olympic Games without a medal.
Despite finishing without a medal, Lakshya Sen’s performances showed passion and determination rarely seen from Indian players at the Olympic Games.
How did Lakshya Sen’s Paris Olympics 2024 journey unfold?
Lakshya Sen began his Paris Olympics 2024 journey on a high note, defeating Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon, 21-8, 22-20 in his opening match. However, he suffered a setback when the latter withdrew from the competition, which meant that the Indian shuttler’s win was ‘deleted’ and he had to start from scratch.
Undeterred, Lakshya quickly overcame the setback by defeating Belgium’s Julien Carraggi 21-19, 21-14. He then faced his toughest challenge, as he squared off against the third-seeded Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. Lakshya outplayed his higher ranked opponent, winning the game 21-18, 21-12.
Sen topped his group, setting up an all-Indian Round of 16 clash with HS Prannoy. Despite not being at his best, Lakshya still managed to defeat Prannoy 21-12, 21-6 to move on to the quarter-final. He then faced the Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-Chen. However, even the 12th-seeded Chou was unable to stop Lakshya on his tracks, as the latter won the game 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.
With this victory, Lakshya Sen became the first Indian badminton player to reach the men’s singles event at the Olympic Games.
However, Sen saw his dream run at his first Olympic Games come to a halt when he faced world No. 2 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semi-final. Despite providing a tough fight in the opening set, he eventually lost the match 22-20, 21-14.
Lakshya did have the chance to salvage a bronze medal from his Paris 2024 journey as he faced off against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia. However, the Indian shuttler faltered under the immense pressure of securing a podium finish, and eventually lost the match 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.
Despite a cruel end to an otherwise stellar campaign in the Paris Olympics 2024, Lakshya Sen has cemented his name as one of the top badminton players in the country and will look to add an Olympic medal in Los Angeles 2028.