Medal hopes for India in Badminton; Lakshya Sen enters semi final

PARIS: India's badminton star Lakshya Sen, scripted history by storming into the semi-final of the men's singles event at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Friday. Lakshya became the first Indian shuttler to reach the semi-final stage in the men's singles event following his 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 win over Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen.

Sen, the lone Indian shuttler still in the fray in the Paris Olympics, lost the first game after the Taipei player opened up a 5-2 lead. Though the Indian star levelled scores at 5-5, his rival continued to maintain the upper hand and opened up a 14-9 lead, Sen again fought back to seven points in a row to take a 17-15 lead. However, Chen could not be denied, and he went on to win the game 21-19.

Sen took an early lead in the second game, but the Taipei player kept at his heels and after a quick exchange of points, they were tied 13-13 when the Indian shuttler, a former World Championships bronze medallist, took control of the proceedings and won five points in a row to open up a 18-13 gap. He went on to win the game 21-15 to take it to the decider.

Sen was on top of his game in the decider as he took control of the proceedings 2-3 and opened up a 9-4 lead. Though his opponent from Chinese Taipei tried to fight back, Sen maintained his upper hand as he won the game 21-12 to win the match and seal a place in the semifinals.

Lakshya Sen will next face the winner of the match between top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.