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Viktor Axelsen praised Lakshya Sen despite the Indian shuttler’s loss in men’s singles badminton semi-final on Sunday (Aug 4) at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
Lakshya lost the match 20-22, 14-21 in straight games and will now play for the bronze medal. Axelsen, the reigning world champion, however said that the India shuttler will be a gold medal contender during the next Olympics.
“These rings do strange things to you. I know what they do to you mentally. Lakshya is the first Indian men’s singles player in the Olympic semifinals. No man in India has done what he has done. He’s already thinking of what is ahead. I could see that he was tensed. I knew he was getting nervous and It’s at that point that I have to be ready to take advantage of his mistake. I just have to keep the shuttle on court and wait for his mistake,” Axelsen said after win against Sen.
“I’ve gone through what he had before. But he’s going to be a real contender for the 2028 Olympics. I think the difference in experience made a difference today,” he added.
The Indian shuttler clearly showed inexperience as he failed to close the first game despite having three game points. In the second game, Lakshya was leading 7-0 before unraveling and losing 14-21.
Sen acknowledged his shortcoming in the match and vowed to give his 100 per cent in the bronze medal match.
“It was a big match. In the first game, I should have been more alert. If I could close the first game I had more chances to bring (the match) to three games and still win. In the second game, I started well but I couldn’t keep the lead and he started playing well, then it became hard to score against him,” Lakshya said.
“I’ll try to be at my 100 per cent in the next match,” he said about the bronze medal match against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia on Monday (Aug 5).
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