Paris (France): Olympic debutant Lakshya Sen ended his campaign on a disappointing note after losing the bronze medal match against Malaysia's Zii Jia Lee at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics here on Monday.
Lakshya Sen suffered a heartbreaking defeat against the Malaysian by 1-2 despite winning the first set.
Lakshya displayed his best game, correcting the mistake he made in the semifinal clash against Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and defeating Lee in straight sets. With this match, Lakshya Sen became the first Indian to compete in a medal in the Olympics.
The 22-year-old showcased the perfect balance of attack and defence in the first set. He defeated his Malaysian opponent quite comprehensively 21-13 in the end. However, Lee showed some fight in the second set, overcoming his deficit of four points and took the lead four lead (12-8) at one stage, with Lakshya chasing the game after making a scintillating start. Lee didn't allow his opponent to make a comeback and secured the second set 21-16.
🇮🇳 Result Update: #Badminton Men's Singles Bronze Medal Match👇
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 5, 2024
So close, yet so far💔
Our star Shuttler Lakshya Sen suffers heartbreak in his first-ever medal match at the #Olympics.
The 22-year-old, who made his debut appearance at #Paris2024, had nothing less than a dream… pic.twitter.com/skEIjHCdNQ
In the process, during the second set, Lakshya suffered a hand injury and has been struggling since that. He called the physio in between for numerous times.
The Indian shuttler continued to struggle with his right hand in the third set as well and could hardly manage to smash anything with power. The Malaysian kept playing the overhead shots, using the Indian shuttler's visible weakness to his benefit. Lakshya Sen failed to show up any competition to his rival and suffered the loss by 11-21 in the set.
Despite making an exceptional first-set win, the injured 22-year-old had to face a 1-2 defeat.
