Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen suffered an inexplicable collapse and was stripped of his Olympic medal, losing in three games to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze repechage at the Paris Games on Monday. An enthusiastic Sen was unstoppable early on, but a nine-point run from Lee in the second game changed the complexion of the match as the world number 7 Malaysian recorded a 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 victory in a 71- minute clash to secure bronze.
“I had my chances in the second set and I definitely could have done better. But credit to him, he played a really good game. I think at the moment I’m not capable of thinking right now,” said a despondent Sen after the game.
“I also came well prepared for this game. It was a pretty tough week overall. But yeah, the fatigue continued to set in. But I mean, I was ready to give 100 percent in this game.”
Sen, who required medical attention several times with a right arm injury, looked indomitable for the first 30 minutes, but once Lee recovered from a position where he was a game down and trailing 3-8 in second place, the Indian didn’t seem to mind. have a plan ‘B’.
Sen had to change the bandage, which covered an injury, three times during the match, leading to several stoppages in the game.
The Indian said this affected his momentum.
“Between the points there was blood on the floor, so they had to clean it up. Sometimes I would lose the momentum to just take a break from the game and then come back and try to focus on the match again. But overall the hand is fine “, he said.
Their defeat means it would be the first time in 12 years that India have returned without a badminton medal at the Olympics.
Only Saina Nehwal (2012) and PV Sindhu (2016, 2021) have won Olympic medals for India on the biggest sporting stage, with the latter’s silver in Rio being the best performance.
Medal favorite men’s doubles pair Satwaiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also returned empty-handed as India’s badminton campaign ended on a disappointing note.
A key member of the Indian badminton team and part of the historic Thomas Cup-winning team, Sen aimed to become India’s first male shuttler to win an Olympic medal.
The match started with a long recovery, but Sen accelerated early. The Indian played mainly on his rival’s backhand, winning easy points as there was no fight at all.
Calculated drop shots created easy points for Sen as he leveled his rival on the court. Even the Malaysian tried to play on Sen’s backhand but India were unfazed, leading 11-6 at the break.
There was no pain or intent in Lee’s shots as he just played a lot of defense and was rallying to erase the deficit that grew with each shot.
The Malaysian’s only smart move was when he jumped for an overhead shot but dropped the shuttle forward, catching Sen on the wrong foot, and then snatched the open-court winner.
Sen closed out the first game when he hit a lightning-quick backhand and Lee’s return sailed past the baseline.
The second game also started on a similar note as before long Sen increased to an 8-3 lead after hitting Lee on his backhand.
Sen appeared to be pulling away but there was a twist in the story when he dropped nine points in a row, allowing the Malaysian to fight back.
There were returns, body breaks and, most importantly, an intention from Lee that began to move the Indian on both sides of the court.
From 3 to 8, the Malaysian made it 12 to 8 and ran away, forcing the decision.
Lee made a powerful start to the game with ferocious strikes and continued with the strategy of running away from the game and combining as Sen’s attack completely fell apart.
Even when Sen was in an advantageous position to score the point, like at 2-7, he was unable to do so, with Lee making incredible recovery and movement with his reflexes and powerful shots.
With an imposing 9-4 lead and momentum on his side, Lee continued attacking Sen, who was struggling to return the crushing returns. It ended the same way, with Lee delivering a body blow that the Indian was unable to return.
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