Paris: Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen faced a heart-breaking defeat in the men’s singles bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Monday. Sen, who had shown promising form throughout the tournament, lost to Malaysia’s seventh seed Lee Zii Jia in a thrilling three-game contest.
𝗔 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿! 💯
Lakshya Sen of 🇮🇳 goes down 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 to Lee Zii Jia of 🇲🇾 in the men’s singles badminton bronze medal match at #Paris2024. 🏸 pic.twitter.com/5cSZIsRgpb
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) August 5, 2024
Sen began the match on a high note, convincingly winning the first game 21-13. He carried the momentum into the second game, quickly establishing an 8-3 lead. However, the Malaysian shuttler fought back, and Sen’s injury started to affect his performance. Sen took a medical time-out during the second game, but it wasn’t enough to halt Lee’s comeback, who claimed the second game 21-16.
In the decisive third game, Sen’s right arm problem continued to impede his play. Despite taking another medical time-out, he couldn’t regain his earlier form, losing the final game 21-11.
India’s quest for an Olympic gold medal in badminton remains unfulfilled, with PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal being the only Indian shuttlers to win medals. Sindhu won silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo, while Nehwal secured a bronze in London.
