Young Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will bid to become the first Indian shuttler to reach the men’s singles semifinal stage at the Olympics when he takes on Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in the quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday (August 2). Sen booked his berth in the last eight stage with an impressive win over compatriot HS Prannoy, emerging victorious with a 21-12, 21-6 margin on Thursday.
However, it will not be an easy task for Sen, who is ranked 22 in the world, as he takes on 12th seeded Tien Chen in the quarters. Sen, the 22-year-old from Almora, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and a 2021 World Championships bronze-medallist, became the third male Indian player to make the quarterfinals after Parupalli Kashyap (2012) and Kidambi Srikanth (2016) but no one has gone beyond this stage so far.
Tien Chen’s run at the Paris Olympics 2024 has been impressive – starting with a win over Luis Ramon Garrido of Mexico in straight games 21-17, 21-13. He then defeated Cheuk Yiu Lee of Hong Kong to book a berth in the round of 16.
In his round of 16 match, the 12th seed Chen registered a comfortable 21-12, 21-16 win over the fifth-seeded Japanese Kodai Naraoka. Before Friday’s clash, Sen and Tien Chen have faced off 4 times with the Chinese Taipei shuttler winning 3 of those encounter and Indian winning just once.
Lakshya Sen’s only win over Tien Chen came at the All England Open badminton in 2023. “It will be a tricky match against Chou, I have to go and recover well and give my 100 per cent,” Sen had said after the win over Prannoy.
Sen was steady in his defense and mixed his attack well, while Prannoy, who played a three-game match last evening, looked tired and didn’t show much resistance during the 39-minute contest. Indian legend Prakash Padukone said it was unlucky that Sen and Prannoy had to face off in the pre-quarters stage.
“It happens all the time, even in the BWF events. So in the first round itself, you meet each other. I think one of the Chinese doubles, they meet in the pre-quarter itself. It happens, the rules are very clear. It’s already announced beforehand. It doesn’t matter which country you come from,” Indian legend Prakash Padukone was quoted as saying by India Today.
Lakshya Sen won against counterpart HS Prannoy in straight set 21-12 , 21-6 in Men's Singles Quaterfinals of Paris 2024 Olympics
Lakshya has also created history by becoming 2nd Indian in Men's Singles to reach QF
Well Played Boys…..!!! pic.twitter.com/7J9ZoxXkQJ
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) August 1, 2024
Here are all the details about Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen badminton quarterfinal at Paris Olympics 2024…
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen badminton quarterfinal at Paris Olympics 2024 will take place on Friday, August 2.
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen badminton quarterfinal at Paris Olympics 2024 will not start before 9.05pm IST.
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen badminton quarterfinal at Paris Olympics 2024 will be LIVE on Sports18 network channels in India.
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen badminton quarterfinal at Paris Olympics 2024 will be available for livestreaming on Jio Cinema website and app.
