There are two versions of Lakshya Sen you get to see on a badminton court. On some days when he is in the zone, Sen is quick across the court, watertight in defence. He looks unbeatable even.
On others days, he can be sloppy, gifting away points in bulk, looking clueless as the opponent runs away with the match.
On Wednesday, at the La Chapelle Arena, the right version of him showed up. Sen put up a stunning show, leaving spectators mesmerised with his defensive skills as he took down third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-18, 21-12 at the 2024 Paris Olympics,
The entire contest can possibly be summarised by the shot Sen played to bring up his first game point.
In an intense, fast-paced, flat rally where he was pushed to the back foot, Sen pulled off a remarkable behind-the-back shot. In almost a physics-defying way, the shuttle lobbed back deep into Christie’s forehand corner.
It was, at best, a reflex shot by Sen. A hopeful shot played as a last resort. Usually such a trick shot, just about passes the net, but such was Sen’s power that Christie had to arch back to return.
Sen, with this 50-minute win, made it through to the men’s singles knockout stage in his first appearance at the Olympic Games – that too, by emerging from a group that on paper, he did not have a strong chance of winning.
Christie had proven to be a tough nut to crack in their five previous meetings for Sen. The Indian shuttler’s only win against the Indonesian was in February 2020, in the pre-Covid 19 era. He had since lost four successive matches to Christie despite running him close.
But, none of it mattered in Paris. Sen was confident of his abilities and he was willing to take the fight to Christie.
The 22-year-old from Almora surprised everyone right at the start. Winning the toss, Sen chose to receive first instead of opting for the better side of the court.
The decision seemed to have backfired as he trailed 0-5 and later 2-8, but what followed was unexpected.
Sen, with his hard strokes, succeeded in throwing Christie off balance more often that not. The Indonesian is known for his good retrieving skills, but Sen’s rapid returns with precision meant that Christie was scrambling to reach the shuttle.
Sen stitched together seven points in a row as the scoreline went from 2-8 to 9-8 in his favour. Thus began the sensational resurgence. The Indian led 11-10 at the midgame interval.
Christie did fight back. A long 58-shot rally falling in his favour at 14-16 seemed to have switched the momentum, as he pocketed four more points to lead 18-16. However, a good slice at the net from Sen and a Christie error helped the Indian equalise.
Sen pocketed the next point as well, before pulling off the near-impossible, behind-the-back shot to bring up game point.
The world No 3, bewildered by the unexpected return of the shuttle, did keep that point alive but Sen claimed the point in a few strokes when Christie sent his shot wide to put Sen up 20-18. Christie, visibly rattled, gifted the first game to the Indian 21-18.
With the opening game in the bag and the better side of the court to play from, Sen tightened the screws. He constantly peppered shots towards Christie’s weak forehand side, posing constant threats.
The Indonesian made a few bad judgement calls at the backline as well, as Sen led 11-6 at the break. Visibly rattled and the outcome almost inevitable, Christie was simply going through the motions for rest of the match.
But Sen had one more jaw-dropping shot to show off. Leading 19-12, in the middle of a 50-shot rally, he ran backwards to the baseline, watched the shuttle in two-minds for the longest time before deciding to intercept it.
Sen was off-balance, but the shuttle sailed over the net. Christie returned it, the rally went on for a bit longer but it then ended in favour of the Indian.
Sen won the next point, and with it, the match and Group L, showing Christie the exit.
There were no over-the-top celebrations, but just a loud roar as the camera panned on to him walking back to his kitbag.
Excellent defence, unimaginable retrieves and imperious stroke play – these were reminders of the same Lakshya Sen that had won the World Championship bronze on debut in 2021.
Three years later, shades of the past are visible once again. Sen is back to his best.
PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy wins
Earlier in the day, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made quick work of Estonia’s Kristin Kuuba in their women’s singles Group M clash.
Sindhu dominated the opening game, pocketing it 21-5 before winning the next 21-10 to register a comfortable victory in just 34 minutes.
The Indian topped the group and is now slated to face China’s He Bing Jiao in the pre-quarterfinals.
Later in the day, HS Prannoy was made to work hard for his 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 win by Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat in men’s singles Group K.
Prannoy seemingly struggled to counter the drift and find his rhythm in the opening round as the world No 70 shuttler gave a good account of himself in the grandest stage of them all.
With the pressure on him to step up, the 13th seeded Indian took his game up by a notch after the change of sides and coasted to win the second game. Le Duc Phat looked of no match to Prannoy as he wrapped up the match in 62 minutes.
Prannoy, on his Olympic debut, topped Group K as a result of his win over the Vietnam shuttler. He will now take on compatriot Sen in the Round of 16 clash on Thursday.
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