Paris 2024 Olympics: Lakshya Sen loses to Viktor Axelsen in badminton semifinal, to play for bronze on Monday

Lakshya will face Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the bronze medal match on Monday.

Lakshya Sen will play for the bronze medal on Monday. | Photo Credit: AP

Lakshya Sen lost to Denmark’s defending Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen 20-22, 14-21 in the men’s singles semifinal on Sunday afternoon. Lakshya will face Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the bronze medal match on Monday, while Axelsen will take on Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the final.

In the first game, Axelsen’s height and reach gave him an edge, but Lakshya refused to back down. Despite Axelsen’s dominant returns, Lakshya led 11-9 at the break. The two players exchanged long rallies, with the drift affecting Axelsen’s shots and helping Lakshya stay competitive.

Axelsen tried to lure Lakshya into powerful smashes, but Lakshya wisely opted for safer half smashes and drop shots. However, the prolonged and intense rallies eventually drained Lakshya, who struggled to catch his breath. Despite leading by five points, Lakshya lost the first game 20-22, squandering three game points in the process.

The second game was more of the same. Gruelling rallies, a few unforced errors and misjudgement in reading returns. Lakshya quickly took a 7-0 lead over Axelsen, who fought back to tie the game at 10-10. However, Lakshya edged ahead 11-10 by the break.

But once again, Axelsen raised his level of play when it counted, overpowering Lakshya with a flurry of attacks in the second half of the second game. He won the game 21-14, taking the match and advancing to the Olympic singles final. Notably, Axelsen has yet to lose a game in Paris