Lakshya Sen Aims To Be ‘Virat Kohli of Indian Badminton’ After Historic Paris Olympics 2024
New Delhi: Lakshya Sen made history for India at the Paris Olympics 2024 by becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach the men’s singles semi-finals. Despite his historic achievement, the 23-year-old from Almora fell short of securing a medal. He was defeated in straight sets by Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals and lost the bronze medal match to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.
Sen secured victory in the first set in the bronze medal clash which took place at La Chapelle Areana Against the world No.7 player but failed to maintain his momentum and suffered a heartbreaking 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 loss in 71 minutes.
The defeat in the bronze medal match was a tough setback for Lakshya Sen, who had previously gained prominence in 2021 with a bronze medal at the World Championships. Following his disappointment in Paris, Sen has returned to India with renewed focus and is now gearing up to excel in upcoming tournaments.
In a recent interview with Ranveer Allahbadia on his YouTube channel, Lakshya Sen was informed that his memorable shot at the Paris Olympics 2024 had been compared to Virat Kohli’s famous two sixes off Haris Rauf during the 2022 T20 World Cup. Sen responded positively to the comparison, expressing his admiration for the cricketing legend and his aspiration to become the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton.
“Why not!” said Lakshya when he was asked if he would accept the comparison with Kohli. “I mean, at the same time, he (Kohli) has done a lot for Indian cricket, and yes, I want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years,” he said.
Reflecting on his memorable shot from the group stage match against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, Lakshya Sen explained, “I was focused on retrieving the shuttle and planned to make an attacking play when the opportunity arose. At 19-18, I didn’t want to let the shuttle pass. Seeing it go behind my head, the only way to reach it was to execute that shot,” he added.