Paris: Viktor Axelsen’s experience and pedigree proved too much to handle for the young and ambitious Lakshya Sen as the Indian’s exceptional run at the Paris Olympics received a jolt at the hands of the great Dane in the semifinals of the badminton competition here on Sunday.
There were many moments in the match when the 22-year-old Sen looked like he would stun the defending champion and two-time World Championship winner, like when he held three game points in the opener and led 7-0 in the second at the La Chapelle arena.
In fact, he even outplayed Axelsen on several points, showing what a prodigious talent he is with his brilliant blend of attack and defence. But champion players know when to summon their best even if they are not playing at their best and Axelsen did do so, first to steal away the opening game from the clutches of Lakshya and then bouncing back from a 0-7 deficit in the second to carve out a 22-20, 21-14 win in 54 minutes.
While Axelsen will take on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Monday’s final, a dejected Sen will be hoping to bury off the disappointment and still cap his history-making Paris trip on a glorious high when he locks horns with Malaysia’s Zii Jia Lee in the preceding bronze medal bout. Only PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have won Olympic medals in badminton for India.
Axelsen admits Lakshya was better player
“Experience made the difference today,” a delighted Axelsen, who celebrated wildly in front of Dutch fans, said after the match. “I think Lakshya actually played better than I did in big parts of the game. So he could've won the match, but I won the match up here today,” he added pointing toward his head.
Having lost seven out of his previous eight encounters against Axelsen, Sen knew the challenge that was ahead of him. It was quickly evident when Axelsen, who invited Sen to train at his Dubai home base prior to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, raced up to a 3-0 lead in the opening game.
Sen, the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist and silver medal winner at the Asian Games last year in Hangzhou, however quickly recovered from the opening salvo. He went toe to toe with the Dane for the remaining part of the game, unleashing a barrage of smashes that at times had the 6’4’’ giant running for cover. His defences were also superb and he raised three game points.
That’s when the nerves got the better of him for the first time and he erred on service, hitting the net. Axelsen delightfully accepted the freebie and sensing Sen was feeling the pressure, played some remarkable badminton to win five points on the row and go 1-0 ahead.
Sen, following some advice from his long-time mentor Prakash Padukone and coach Vimal Kumar during the changeover, came charging off the blocks in the second. Smashing at will, he raced away to 7-0 lead and it looked like the youngster was fired up to push the contest into a decider.
Axelsen then decided enough was enough and upped his game to reduce the deficit to 4-8 with an array of smashes to take the break in the second game just one behind Sen. The confidence then started to flow for Axelsen while Sen struggled to contain his unforced errors.
Despite the tide completely turning against him, Sen tried to stay afloat till Axelsen switched in his Zen mode at 14-14. From there on it was just a downhill ride for the Indian as Dane marched on to an eventual romp in front of his adoring fans.