Birmingham: After clinching gold medal in the men's singles final, Lakshya Sen said that from the very beginning of the match, he knew he can do it and he did not put much pressure on himself for the medal.
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched the country's second badminton gold of the day, defeating Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong in the final of the men's singles category at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Monday.
Sen fought brilliantly on his way to victory. He won the match by 19-21, 21-19 and 21-16. He took on the Malaysian challenge head-on and toiled his way towards the ultimate prize. "From the very beginning, I was feeling that I can do well & didn't put too much pressure on myself. India's national anthem being played after PV Sindhu's win motivated me a lot. It was a proud moment when the same happened after my victory," Lakshya Sen told ANI.
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Talking about the match, Sen and his Malaysian opponent started the opening game on a mostly even note. Sen gained a slight advantage with a 5-4 lead. But Tze Yong was not the one to give up and not only did he score points, but he also made Sen toil hard for his own points. Sen kept fighting and eventually made things 19-19. But Tze Yong secured the first game after outclassing the Indian by 19-21.
The next game also started off as a see-saw contest, with Tze Yong having a lead. Sen continued fighting hard for his points and made things 6-6. Lakshya's perseverance eventually took him to a 11-9 lead halfway into the game, which eventually widened to 18-9. Sen won the second game by 21-9 to set up an exciting decider.
The decider game also started on an exciting note, with both players toiling hard for points. Sen was better this time. Halfway through the game, he had an 11-7 lead, which widened to 15-11. Sen eventually swung his racket to a win by 21-16 in the third game, which helped him seal the match and clinch the gold.