Lakshya Sen smashes during the bronze medal tie in Paris.
Credit: DH Photo/KN Shanth Kumar
Paris: Lakshya Sen’s promising Paris Olympics campaign ended in heart-breaking fashion as the youngster succumbed to a bout of nerves for a second match in succession to finish fourth here on Monday.
The 22-year-old from Almora, Uttarakhand made a blazing start in his bronze medal bout against Zii Jia Lee but then, somewhat hampered by a gnash on his right elbow that been plastered for over a week, struggled to maintain the same intensity as the Malaysian came roaring back to life in the next two to secure a 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 win in 71 minutes at the La Chapelle arena.
Smarting after a stinging semifinal defeat from a position of strength against Viktor Axelsen on Sunday, Sen looked like he was determined to cover that pain in joy and become just the third Indian shuttler and first male to win an Olympic medal.
He was off the blocks in style against the World No. 7, winning the early exchanges with his fine mix of attack and defence. The rhythm was good and the confidence was very visible against an opponent he’d lost to just once in five clashes. He controlled the tempo of the game nicely from the time he took the mini break with a 11-4 lead, he never surrendered his advantageous position to go 1-0 up in 20 minutes.
Sen made a dominant start in the second too, racing away to a 6-2 lead. It looked like the youngster, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, would gallop away to victory when things started to fall apart for him. The Malaysian, seemingly out of nowhere, upped the tempo and Sen was caught unawares.
Couple of times he called for the physio to tape his elbow and while that wound was taken care of, the errors that started to bleed from his racquet began to hurt him more and more. The Malaysian, sensing Sen was feeling the heat, kept engaging the Indian in several rallies and won most of it. A series of unforced errors from Sen saw Lee level the proceedings and at that stage it was evident the Malaysian held all the momentum.
Lee rode on that and opened up a 9-2 lead in the decider. Lakshya stood clueless, wondering how a match that was in his control just slipped away. He didn’t hold game points or a massive lead like in the match against Axelsen but he was in control for the opening 25 minutes.
Sen then just went through the motions, knowing very well a medal that was there for the taking had slipped out of his hands. He’d lost the mental battle and Lee, needing no second invitation, pounced on it, finishing the match with a series of powerful smashes.