Badminton Highlights, Paris 2024 Olympics: Viktor Axelsen beats Kunlavut Viditsarn to defend gold; Lakshya loses bronze medal to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in three games

This is it! Axelsen uses his reach to place his return on the right of Viditsarn who was too tired to reach at the shot and we have gotten our men’s singles gold medallist! Viktor Axelsen becomes the second player after Lin Dan to win two Olympic gold medals!

Finally, gold medal point for Axelsen! 

Axelsen wastes his second challenge and Viditsarn wins another point. 

Viditsarn is showing his class, a perfect down-the-line smash and Axelsen could not do anything. 

Error from Judgement from Axelsen who lets the shuttle land inside. Maybe nerves taking over the defending champion? Nonetheless, he has way too many opportunities to convert this game. 

Viditsarn delays the inevitable after landing his smash inside. 

Axelsen wasted one of his challenges as Viditsarn’s smash was on the line. 

A last-moment shot from Viditsarn from the backline did not help his cause as he failed to return Axelsen’s drive. 

Axelsen forced Viditsarn to hit on the nets, an 11-point lead for Axelsen now. 

Another mistake from Viditsarn who could not keep his return inside and hit wide. The gap continues to widen as the Danish is now 10 points away from defending his Olympic title. 

Axelsen seems just way too good to handle for Viditsarn. The Danish tired Viditsarn before going for a down-the-line forehand smash. 11-3 midway through the second game. 

Viditsarn hits long and quickly challenges but the shuttle was well outside the white line. 

Viditsarn hits way wide as the long rally ends with the Danish taking yet another point. 

A backhand return hits the net and the trouble continues to pile on the Thai shuttler. 

Viditsarn uses angles to unsettle Axelsen which forces him to hit his return long. 

Axelsen deceives Viditsarn by landing his drive inside the backline which at one point seemed to have drifting out. 

Something to cheer for the Thailand fans as Viditsarn targets Axelsen’s body to win a point from a long rally. 

Viditsarn hits this one onto the net from the backhand. 

Axelsen’s reach is big problem for Viditsarn who is struggling to find vacant space for his smashes, a desperate attempt and it goes wide. 

Viditsarn’s drop shot over the net hits Axelsen, and a quick hand of apology followed from the Thai shuttler. 

Axelsen starts the second game with a point after Viditsarn hits outside. 

Axelsen wastes the first game point by shooting it long beyond the backline but the next shot landed in after hitting the edge of the net. 21-11 first-game win for the defending champion. 

Viditsarn hits it out to give 11 game points to Axelsen. 

Just a little space on the left of Viditsarn and Axelsen pounces on it to place his drive. 

A confidence-booster point for Viditsarn whose backhand drive unsettles Axelsen. 

This time the Danish makes an error as his backhand drive goes wide. 

Backhand, forehand, from the baseline, from the net -- there is nothing that is looking to bother Axelsen in the first game here. He dived on his right to first defend and the went for the attack to win the point. 

Too easy for Axelsen who is toying with Viditsarn’s defensive play here. 

Viditsarn loses a challenge after hitting it out. Axelsen lands his smash inside with just a nonchalant jump. 

Viditsarn finally wins a point back but hits it long to concede only quickly too. 

Quick exchanges near the net and Viditsarn hits the net.

Viditsarna concedes a six-point lead to Axelsen at the mid-game mark after leading early on. The Thai shuttler needs to mount a comeback real soon. 

Brilliant use of his long reach, Axelsen is not letting Viditsarn capitalise on the attack with near-perfect defensive play. 

Axelsen doubles his lead quickly after forcing an error from Viditsarn who hits wide. 

Axelsen hits it long. 

Axelsen was in control of the rally up until the last shot where he couldn’t place his smash inside. The Danish challenge and turns out the shuttle was indeed inside, so Axelsen gets into the lead for the very first time in this game. 

Axelsex is not letting Viditsarn capitalise on a slender lead. Four all after the Thai player hits his return on the net. 

Viditsarn goes for a smash but hits it beyond the white line. Parity restored.

The Danish pulls one back but drops the next point after letting the shuttle land inside. 

Viditsarn with a statement - a nearly unplayable cross-court smash wins a point. 

Viditsarn hits wide, one all. 

Viditsarn starts with a point. 

Kunlavut Viditsarn - 8

Viktor Axelsen - 2

A small break and we will be back with the gold medal match between Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Thaliand’s Kunvalut Viditsarn. 

Here we go! Zii Jia takes this game, this match and the bronze medal with a backhand killer. 

Sen hits long and loses the challenge as well, nine bronze medal points for Zii Jia. 

Sen needs to fight back a lot harder. Zii Jia is just one point away from bronze medal point. 

Sen hits long and this is slipping away. 

Zii Jia wins this point with sheer timing. A perfect jump and down-the-line smash. 

Zii Jia makes back-to-back errors. First, he let the birdie land in before hitting it wide. 

Zii Jia gives out everything, a full-stretch dive forward to defend the drop shot and he wins the point from the net. 

Zii Jia hits wide to give one point to Sen. 

Sen is just not looking at his best at the moment, drops another point from the net. 

Sen wrecks this point after overcooking his return and it went wide. 

Sen is struggling to keep his returns inside the court as he hits out again. 

Sen converts a point from the net. 

Another return that has gone long for Sen. 

Sen’s smash is in and he gets a point but Zii Jia still manages to get a five-point mid-game lead. 

Sen makes a mistake by hitting his return wide after playing a wonderful rally. He needs to cut down on unforced errors otherwise this game and match is slipping away from him. 

Sen forces an error from Zii Jia whose return hits the net. 

Another engaging rally culminates with Sen getting a point after Zii Jia hits the net. 

Sen finally stops the bleeding of points with a down-the-line winner. 

Sen was late in his return while checking for the drift and Zii Jia with an absolutely gobsmacking smash converts another point. 

A stunning effort from Zii Jia who was in no control while defending but he changed the momentum during the point and eventually won the point to extend his gap. 

Zii Jia is in total control of this game and he is able to force errors from Sen at will. 

Sen rolled over to hit his return from back but it went long. 

A combination of forehand smash and backhand return helped Zii Jia to regain his two-point lead. 

Zii Jia was not in control while playing a cross-court drive and it resulted in going wide. 

Sen drops the first two points before earning his first point of this game. 

We are heading into the final game of this match. 

Zii Jia converts his first game point and takes the second game 21-16. This match is going for the third and final game. 

Game point for Zii Jia after a small halt as Sen’s right hand was bleeding. This time the Indian hits it long as he continues to struggle with the drift. 

Zii Jia is just two points away from converting this game. What a contest are we witnessing here. 

Sen finds a brilliant angle and just places his drive before wrongfooting Zii Jia for a point. 

Zii Jia pulls one back quickly. Three-point lead for the Malaysian. 

A weak return from Zii Jia gave Sen enough time to charge down the net and place a smash which serves him right for a point. 

Four-point lead for Zii Jia after Sen falters again by hitting his return wide. 

Sen wastes his two reviews of this game after hitting his return long. 

Sen places himself well to hit a backhand smash from the baseline to win a point 

Sen hits it long this time. 2-point lead regained for the Malaysian. 

Zii Jia saves one smash but fails to retaliate again after Sen goes down the line. 

The match is turning either way with every point. Sen hits onto the net, before Zii Jia aggress onto the net for his smash. 

Guess what, Lakshya Sen has closed down on the Malaysian’s lead! 12 all after he landed his smash inside. 

Zii Jia drops another point by hitting it wide. 

Sen pulls back another. A brilliant cross-court smash unsettles Zii JIa. 

Finally, a point for the Indian as Lee Zii Jia hits long. 

Lee Zii Jia forces Sen to play net shots and wins another point after Sen’s return hits the net. 

Eighth consecutive point for Zii Jia after Sen hits long and it is the Malaysian who will go into the halftime break with a three-point lead. 

A failed challenge and a failed return from Sen give the Malaysian two points lead in this game. 

Zii Jia restored the parity with two more back-to-back points. 5 consecutive points for the Malaysian in total. 

Zii Jia has seemed to change his play as he is charging down at the net more often and it is working for him. This time he forces Sen to hit onto the net. 

Close exchanges on the net before Sen hits it long. 

Lakshya overcooks his return and hits it wide to drop a point against the Malaysian. 

A rare point for Zii Jia but he squanders it quickly after hitting it long. 

Zii Jia hits one outside before Sen’s return landed in after touching the net. 

Sen and Zii Jia were engaged in net play up close. The Indian pounces on the opportunity to hit it straight for a point. 

Sen just seems to be unstoppable in his attacks today. A full-length dive from Zii Jia was not enough to retaliate Sen’s smash. 

Sen puts too much force on his smash and hits it wide. 

Zii Jia pulls one back quickly to restore parity. 

The second game also started in a similar fashion to the first game -- a long rally and it ended in India’s way after Zii Jia hit it beyond the backline. 

Sen to serve vs Zii Jia in the second game fist. 

A comfortable win at the end for Sen who is marching strongly for a bronze medal finish here. He pockets the first game 21-12. 

Zii Jia wins a point at a crucial time but he will need many more of this. 

Zii Jia challenges this point but turned out the birdie is in and good for the Indian as he is just two points away from game point. 

A one-point trade-off between the two. Sen converts smash for a point before Zii Jia places his drive at the backline. 

Zii Jia had to be aggressive to convert this time as he charged down to the net to go for his kill shot. 

A quick body-line drive-cum-smash surprises Zii Jia who hits it outside. 

Zii Jia drops another point but pulls one back with a full-strength cross-court smash. 

You can’t keep Sen away from the scoresheet for too long. Sen approaches the net and hits a smash on Zii Jia’s right to get a point. 

Sen let’s the return go again and drops another point in a similar fashion. 

Sen lets the birdie go out but it drifted in at the last second to give a second point in succession to the Malaysian. 

Zii Jia goes for a cross-court drive and it turned out to be enough this time to fetch a point. 

Zii Jia gives some width in his return, Sen had ample time to place his down-the-line smash to convert this point. Superb play by the Indian. 

Zii Jia drops an easy point this time by hitting his return onto the net. 

Sen’s racquet touches the net and he drops a point this time. 

Sen bombarded Zii Jia with fiery smashes but the Malaysian held the fort with some solid defence, however an error in judgement helped Sen land his return to get a point. Sen gets a six-point lead at the halfway mark. 

Sen and Zii Jia were engaged in a fighting rally but this time the Indian made an unforced error by hitting into the net. 

A couple of errors from Zii Jia from the net widens the gap between the two. 

Brilliant placement from Sen who places his drive at the backcourt after wrongfooting Zii Jia. 

A much-needed point for Malaysian as he leapt in the air to deliver a fiery cross-court smash. 

Zii Jia pulls one point back only to drop the following one by hitting long. 

India’s Sen gets a healthy early lead as a tentative Zii Jia is dropping points with unforced errors. 

Zii Jia’s return goes wide, two-point lead regained for Sen. 

Sen hits this one onto the net. The lead is cut-short to one point. 

Sen misjudged this time as the return landed in after what it seemed to be drifting out. 

Sen capitalises on a nervous start from Zii Jia and forces him to hit outside, again. 

A brilliant opening rally culminates after Zii Jia hits it long beyond the backline of Sen. 

Lee Zii Jia on the service, Sen on the receiving end. 

Lakshya Sen: Unseeded

Lee Zii Jia: Seventh

Umpire: Ivo Kassel

Service Judge: Hermin Mehr Armi

Both Sen and Zii Jia are at the centre court. We are done with the toss and heading towards some enticing live action. 

All England Open 2024 - Lakshya Sen beat Lee Zii Jia 20-22, 21-16, 21-19

Indonesia Open 2023 - Lakshya Sen beat Lee Zii Jia 21-17, 21-13

Thomas Cup 2022 - Lakshya Sen lost to Lee Zii Jia 21-23, 9-21

All England Open 2022 - Lakshya Senn beat Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19

India International Series 2016 - Lakshya Sen beat Zii Jia Lee 11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6

We have Lin Dan who will start the proceedings before the men’s singles medal match. 

“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 the court and wait for his mistake.”

Viktor Axelsen on Lakshya Sen after semifinal.

Lakshya Sen: 22

Lee Zii Jia: 7

The last meeting between the two shuttlers came at the All England Open this year which the Indian won 20-22, 21-16, 21-19.

Lakshya Sen 4-1 Lee Zee Jia

The live streaming of the bronze-medal match between Lakshya Sen and Lee Zii Jia will be available on the JioCinema website and app. The live broadcast will be available on Sports 18 and Sports 18 HD.

6:00 PM, IST - Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match - Lakshya Sen vs Lee Zii Jia

Not before 7:10 PM, IST - Men’s Singles Gold Medal Match - Viktor Axelsen vs Kunlavut Viditsarn

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics badminton men’s singles bronze medal match between India’s Lakshya Sen and Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia followed by the gold medal match between Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Thailand’s Kunlavut Viditsarn. 

Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates as it unfolds at the La Chapelle Arena.