India's dream of a first-ever Olympic gold in badminton will remain unfulfilled as Lakshya Sen fell to world number 2 Victor Axelsen in a closely fought men's badminton semi-final.
The 22-year-old Indian shuttler lost the first set against Denmark's Axelson 20-22 before coming up short 14-21 in the second.
Despite the setback, Lakshya Sen still has an opportunity to be the first Indian male shuttler to win an Olympic medal in Badminton by clinching historic bronze. So far, only Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu have won Olympic medals for India in Badminton. Sen became the first men's singles player to reach the semifinals at the 2024 Olympics.
The Indian was about to win the first set. However, dropped crucial points towards the end which allowed the Dane to clinch the set at the last moment.
Sen made a strong start in the second set, carving out a seven-point lead. However, Axelson once again came back from behind to win the set and the match.
In the first set, Axelsen's delaying tactics while serving also unsettled Sen. The Indian struggled with the length, spraying wide and long to concede a 2-5 lead early on.
He drew parity with a cross-court shot and then tried to construct the rallies. His trademark cross-court smashes deep into his opponent's forehand helped him to lead 8-7 at one stage.
The Indian kept the pressure on Axelsen and another fine cross-court and an on-the-line return gave him a two-point advantage.
Sen's patient play worked as Axelsen made a series of unforced errors to concede a 9-15 lead.
Axelsen won two good rallies, including one involving 43 shots. Soon, Sen moved to 17-11, but Axelsen then started dominating proceedings and rained down a monstrous forehand to narrow the lead down to 16-18.
Sen left his opponent wrong-footed with an away shot and then produced another incredible cross-court to gather three game points. But the youngster imploded next as he lost all three of them after serving into net and going long twice.
Sen sent a return to serve out and netted again to hand over the opening game to his rival.
Sen recovered quickly from the opening game reversal to zoom to a 7-0 lead after the change of sides but he flattered to deceive, as Axelsen scripted a stunning fightback.
The Indian looked too defensive and committed a series of unforced errors as the Dane made it 7-8 after nailing down another forehand smash.
At 10-7, Sen lost his racquet while defending a smash from Axelsen, who was back on level terms with another thundering smash.
The Indian, however, managed a one-point advantage at the break, when the Dane erred.
Sen tried to up his game but Axelsen was alert and looked in good flow as he moved to 15-12 with his opponent missing the lines too often. Axelsen looked in complete control as he rained down those forehand smashes at will to move to 19-14.
A flat exchange ended at the net from Sen and it was six match points for the Dane, who sealed it when the Indian went wide again.
Following the game, defending champion Viktor Axelsen said that Sen was undone by nerves. However, he also predicted that the Indian youngster would be among the favourites to win a gold medal four years from now in the Los Angeles Games.
In the eight times Sen and Axelson met, Sen had lost seven times and won just once. The 30-year-old Axelson has won gold in the Tokyo Olmpiucs and Bronze in Rio and will win either a silver or a gold in Paris.
(With inputs from PTI)