Badminton Highlights, Paris Olympics 2024, Day 5: Lakshya Sen makes into pre-quarters after beating Christie 21-18, 21-12; PV Sindhu qualifies for top 16 — July 31 updates

This is it! Laksya Sen has done it! Christie nets it and Sen goes through! 

Sen you beauty! A tired Lakshya kept going on to continue the rally and finally reap rewards after Christie’s return goes long. 

Sen is just three points away from a knockout spot! 

Christie gets into a good position for a smash but nets it. 9-17 in favour of the Indian. 

Sen is playing some phenomenal badminton as he is forcing Christie to make simple errors, also widening the lead. 

The Indonesian is not letting Lakshya Sen runaway with the lead. Hard fought point win for Christie this time to end a long rally with a smash. 

Two quick points closes the match for Christie. 

Sen capitalises on short quick returns and makes it a six-point lead. 

Sen maintains his lead into the halfway mark. 

Christie gets some space and uses it to perfection to land his smash. 

Sen lets the return go in anticipation of Bridie going outside but it landed in to give a point to Christie. 

The boy from Almora is putting Christie under tremendous pressure! He widens his lead. 

Sen gets into a two-point lead. 

Three-all after Christie makes an error in judging whether the return went outside court or not. 

Mid-court smash from Christie was enough to give him a point this time after Sen missed getting a connection for this return. 

Sen manages to bring parity in no time. 

Jonatan Christie into the early lead. 

Sen just needs to win this game and he will be through to pre-quarters! 

What a turnaround! Lakshya manages to escape from third-seed Christie in the first game. Terrific game for the Indian. 

A brilliant point won by Sen as he plays a shot behind his back, surprising Christie and he gets a game point. 

Sen gets into the lead at a very crucial time. His long shot from the backcourt was in as opposed to what Christie thought. One point lead for Sen. 

Christie goes for a cross-court smash but the birdie goes outside. 18-all now! 

Another point dropped by Lakshya but he made a strong comeback with an aggressive smash. 

Sen tries for a cross-court smash of his own, makes an error by hitting the net instead. 

Christie converts another long rally, this time with a cross-court smash. 16 apiece now. 

Sen let Christie play his forehand shot, inducing another error from the Indonesian. 

Christie hits one long, Sen into the lead. 

Parity restored with Christie winning three points on the trot. 

A marathon rally between two driven players was finally won by the Indonesian who deftly placed his return at one wrong before wrongfooting Sen. 

Sen finds a beautiful sweet spot at Christie’s corner to land his smash. Three-point lead for the Indian. 

Sen gets into a two-point lead for the first game in this game. 

Sen makes an error while aggressing towards the net for a drop shot. 11-all now. 

Sen with a slender one-point lead at the halfway mark. 

Both players are in no mood to give up anytime soon. Christie first wins a point with a referral before Sen forces him to net his return. 

Sen came into the lead for the first time in this game before Christie quickly pull one back. 

A cross-court smash restores parity for Sen! Brilliant run of play by the Indian. 

Three back-to-back points for Sen as Christie’s return goes long. 

Aggressive approach from Sen this time, forces Christie to drop two points on the trot. 

Jonatan pushes Sen on the backfoot with body drive shots but Sen retaliates swiftly to win a point. 

Back-to-back smashes from Sen to end a long rally for a much-needed confidence-boosting point. 

Sen needs to dictate the pace here, his tentative play is costing him points. 

Brilliant cross-court placement from Sen to get a point with a leap-smash. 

Lakshya finally manages to get a point as he increases his pace, forcing Jonatan to hit one outside. 

A close call but Sen’s return goes wide before Christie charges on the net to play a rapid drop shot for two more points. 

Christie gets the first two points and is looking to put early pressure on Sen. 

The high-clash match is here! 

The all-important Lakshya Sen vs Jonatan Christie match will be played now! Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates. 

Sindhu is through to the quarterfinals with a straight games win over Estonia’s Kuuba. 

Match point for Sindhu. 

Kuuba’s return goes wide. 

Four quick points for Sindhu take the scoreline to 15-6.

An aggressive charge on the net to play a drop shot which takes her into the second break with a five-point lead. 

Kuuba’s serve goes long. She makes another error by hitting one outside. Two points on the trot for the Indian. 

Kuuba engages Sindu in a rally before swiftly finding a vacant space for her return as Sindhu hits one onto the net. 

A rare service error from Sindhu who put the birdie long before dropping two more points in quick succession. 

Wow! Kuuba is struggling to match Sindhu’s pace as the Indian delivers a rapid smash this time to win a point. 

A side-on smash and a drive over the net give Sindhu two back-to-back points. 

A much-better effort from the Estonian this time around to bring parity at 2-2 before Sindhu’s rampage smash takes her into the lead. 

SIndhu would love to finish this match quickly to conserve energy before taking on big names in the knockout stage. 

A clean comprehensive win in the first game for the 10th-seeded Indian. 

Game point for PV Sindhu who is making light work of the Estonian challenge. 

Sindhu widened the gap to make it 18-3 before her return went long to concede an odd point. 

Sindhu fails to return on time and drops a point before gaining her 13-point lead with a cross-court drive. 

Another return which went wide for Kuuba. Sindhu extends her lead to 13 points. 

Sindhu is able to wrong-foot Kristin Kuuba at will. She deceives the Estonian to land her drive shot over the net in the forecourt. 

Sindhu goes with a nine-point lead into the first break. 

Kuuba found a good awkward angle for her drive shot but could not keep it in the court to concede another point. 

Finally a few point points for the Estonian but Sindhu is cruising in this game at the moment. 

Make it a six-point lead for Sindhu who first won the fourth point with a net-inflicted shot and then her return was enough to deceive Kuuba. 

The birdie was in her slot, a jump and straight smash fetches her a point this time. 

Early lead for PV Sindhu as she gets a confident start with three consecutive points. 

Finally, we have the live action as PV Sindhu and Kristin Kuuba come to court 1. 

Lakshya Sen will be in action against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie at 1:40 pm in what will be a virtual knockout clash. If he wins, he will go into the top 16 otherwise a return flight for the Indian. 

Court 1 where PV Sindhu will play her match is occupied so there is a slight delay in her match. 

Umpire - Emi Sakamoto

Service Judje: Jacob Syndberg

The live telecast of the Paris Olympics will be available on Sports18 while the live streaming will be available on JioCinema in India from July 26 to August 11. 

- Women’s Singles Group Stage - P V Sindhu vs Kristin Kuuba (Estonia) - Not before 12:50 pm

- Men’s Singles Group Stage - Lakshya Sen vs Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) - Not before 1:40 pm

- Men’s Singles Group Stage - H S Prannoy vs Le Duc Phat (Vietnam) - 11:00 pm

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics badminton events. On Wednesday, July 31, India’s PV Sindhu in women’s singles and Lakshya Sen in men’s singles are in action in the first half before HS Prannoy will play his second group stage match at 11:00 pm. 

Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates from La Chapelle Arena.