Lakshya Sen in action on Wednesday. (PTI)
India’s Lakshya Sen stunned Indonesian third seed Jonatan Christie in straight games to make the Paris Olympics men’s singles Round of 16 on Wednesday.
After falling to a six-point trail in the opening game, Lakshya rallied back remarkably to cut the deficit and outlast Christie in the closing passage of the game.
The 22-year-old Sen remained ice-cool under pressure and launched a terrific shot in a crunch rally to freeze Christie’s momentum.
‘SENsational’
Sen unfurled a stunning behind-the-back near-forehand in the rally. Not only did it loop over the net, the Indian managed to take the lead to 20-18 with his impulsive stroke. Sen then routed Christie 21-12 in the second game to mark his berth in the knockouts in 50 minutes.
In-sen shot by Lakshya!! 😱#Cheer4Bharat and catch LIVE action now on #Sports18 and stream FREE on #JioCinema👇🏻https://t.co/AOjqOgWpZE#OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #Cheer4India #Badminton #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/vu8rSfotqs
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) July 31, 2024
This was only Sen’s second win in six meetings against Christie, after having dropped four consecutive matches between the pair since their first meeting in 2020.
Sen is now slated to take on the winner of Group K which will be decided by the clash between his compatriot HS Prannoy and Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat. Prannoy and Duc Phat, level on points, will go head on a similar virtual knockout clash like Sen and Christie on Wednesday evening.
#Paris2024 #Olympics#Badminton LAKSHYA SEN YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!
WOW. What a time to pull off a behind-the-back shot in the middle of a furious flat exchange, and to eventually win the rally to set up game point. THAT IS SENsational. pic.twitter.com/jOMSsU8fiO
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) July 31, 2024
Earlier, PV Sindhu waltzed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Olympic Games’ women’s singles event, beating Estonia’s Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in straight games. Sindhu, a two-time Olympoic medallist, won 21-5 21-10 in a match that only lasted 33 minutes and topped her group.
The 29-year-old Sindhu will face China’s He Binj Jiao in the Round of 16, a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics bronze-medal match that the Sindhu had won in straight games.
