Lakshya Sen mathematically qualifies for Paris Olympics 2024
India’s second-best ranked men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen has mathematically qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. Notably, Lakshya is currently ranked at the 13th position in the race to the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Rankings (OQR) with 64021 points.
Furthermore, HS Prannoy is at the ninth spot, having nearly secured his place at the mega event in Paris with 77647 points. Importantly, Lakshya became the second Indian shuttler to make the cut in the top 16 of the OQR and his chances to make it to the quadrennial event strengthened.
It’s important to note that only two players from a country are eligible to qualify, given the singles player is ranked in the top 16 of the Olympic qualifiers. The BWF set April 28 as the cut-off date for qualification.
Lakshya Sen looked in poor touch last year after making nine first-round and two second-round exits. Also, Lakshya went through nose surgery last year after winning the Canada Open.
However, he made an excellent comeback with two consecutive semi-final finishes on the BWF European World Tour. Notably, the Indian shuttler clinched semi-final finishes at the French Open and All England Open in two consecutive weeks and he would be aiming to bag the elusive title win.
With only the continental championships remaining before the qualification cycle ends, the duo of HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen has all but qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Lakshya Sen recently crashed out early from Badminton Asia Championships 2024
Unfortunately, most recently, Lakshya Sen crashed out of the opening round of men’s singles at the Badminton Asia Championships 2024 after suffering a defeat in two straight games to Shi Yu Qi.
Despite losing the game, Sen gave a tough fight to the top-seed opponent. However, the Chinese eventually proved to be too tough to fight as Sen lost by 19-21 and 15-21 in the match that lasted 53 minutes.
Moving into the details of the match, Sen looked in decent touch till 14 points. However, Qi started to come back into the encounter, tiring out Sen with big rallies. The world No. 2 Qi ultimately took the lead at 16-14 with five consecutive points.
Nevertheless, Sen looked to claw back as he drew scores at 19-19 before Qi finished off the first game by 21-19. In the second game, both shuttlers gave their best till the halfway mark. However, due to unforced errors, the Indian ace shuttler had to lose the second game and eventually, the encounter.