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Nervous Lakshya Sen falls short to Axelsen, to compete for bronze medal
Updated On: 05 August, 2024 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Nadkarni
Tall defending champion Axelsen wins semis duel in the mind, weathering the storm when the gifted Indian executed his plan of keeping the net duels tight
India’s Lakshya Sen returns to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen during their semi-final in Paris yesterday. Pic/AFP
At the end of a tight 22-20, 21-14 triumph in the 2024 Olympics men’s singles semi-final against India’s Lakshya Sen, a vastly relieved defending champion Viktor Axelsen warmly embraced his opponent at the net and declared to the media, “This was the toughest match I have played at this Olympics. Four years from now, he [Sen] will be the favourite to win the gold!”
The turning point came when Sen, sitting atop three game-points at 20-17 in the opening stanza was intimidated by the huge 6’4” figure looming on the other side of the net, and produced a low service that clipped the net and fell a few inches short of the service line. That was all the encouragement that Axelsen needed to play the next four points flawlessly and pocket the all-important first game.
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