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India's Lakshya Sen will need to deliver an exceptional performance to maintain his gold medal hopes as he faces reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles semifinals at the Paris Games on Sunday.
India’s Lakshya Sen will need to deliver an exceptional performance to maintain his gold medal hopes as he faces reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles semifinals at the Paris Games on Sunday.
Making his Olympic debut, Sen made history on Friday by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semifinals, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in a thrilling quarterfinal.
Sen will face another significant challenge against Viktor Axelsen, the formidable badminton giant known for his dominance over opponents in recent years.
The 30-year-old from Odense, Denmark, has an impressive resume, including gold at the Tokyo Olympics, bronze at Rio, two world championships (2017 and 2022), a Thomas Cup win in 2016, and numerous BWF World Tour and Superseries titles.
He dominated as world No. 1 from December 2021 to June 2024. Sen, a bronze medalist at the 2021 World Championships, has been defeated by Axelsen seven times, with Axelsen only losing once to Sen at the 2022 German Open.
The 22-year-old has disregarded past records against higher-ranked opponents, defeating world No. 4 Jonatan Christie in the group stage and No. 11 Chou Tien Chen in the quarterfinals.
