Lakshya Sen Triumphs in Olympic Badminton Match

Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen has made a fantastic start at the Paris Olympics in the men’s singles category. He secured his first victory by defeating Belgium‘s Julien Carraggi in a nail-biting match that ended with scores of 21-19 and 21-14, all in just 43 minutes.

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This victory comes after his initial match against Guatemala‘s Kevin Cordon was declared void due to Cordon’s withdrawal caused by an elbow injury. With this win, Sen is now gearing up to face Jonatan Christie, the reigning Asian champion, in what is set to be a critical group match this Wednesday.

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In his match against Carraggi, Sen found himself trailing initially, sitting at 8-11 when the first game flipped sides. However, he showed impressive resilience, managing to level the score at 18-18 before clinching the first game with a well-timed smash.

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The second game was a different story as Sen took control early and maintained a strong lead, ultimately finishing with the score of 21-14. He credited his success to his focus on retrieving shots and capitalizing on opportunities that arose throughout the match.

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Reflecting on his interrupted start to the tournament, Sen treated the unexpected absence of his first opponent as a practice opportunity. He expressed that he was now entirely focused on one match at a time and emphasized the importance of resting and recovering before taking on Christie.

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Meanwhile, not all was well for the Indian contingent in other events. The men’s doubles match featuring Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty against Germany‘s Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seide was also scrapped due to Lamsfuss’s knee injury, declaring their second match null and void. In women’s doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa faced a tough loss against World No. 4 duo Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida.