Lakshya Sen Advances To Olympics Men's Singles Semis, Keeps Badminton Medal Hopes Alive

Lakshya Sen mounted a remarkable comeback to become the first male Indian shuttler to qualify for the singles semifinals at the Olympic Games, outwitting Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen in an intense battle, here on Friday. The 22-year-old from Almora fought his heart out against the world number 11 Taiwanese after losing the first game to eventually prevail 19-21 21-15 21-12 in the men's singles quarterfinal that lasted 75 minutes. PV Sindhu and the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had lost their respective matches on Thursday to bow out of the Games.

The shock loss of the men's doubles pair had dented India's badminton campaign heavily but Sen provided it a fresh lease of life.

Sen bettered the performances of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth who had made the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

"I think this is something that I have ever dreamt of. It feels really good," Sen told reporters after his 75-minute slugfest with Chou.

"There is a lot of work to do now, now it is the real test. I now have 48 hours to recover and get ready for the next match. I have to give my 100 percent.

"He was strong at the net, so I tried to open up the game," he said when asked about the consistent cross-court shots he played.

For 34-year-old Chou, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023, it was yet another quarterfinal finish at the Olympics.

Sen once again went into the match as an underdog, having lost four times in last five meetings against the Taiwanese, a former world number 2. Four of those matches had gone to three games and the Indian was prepared for the long haul.

There was very little to differentiate between the two as they engaged in a physical battle.

Long rallies were the order of