Road To LA: Sindhu and Lakshya To Make A Comeback at Arctic Open
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will look forward to their competitive action on the main stage of the Arctic Open Super 500 in Finland, which begins on Tuesday, 8th October, 2024. It will be their first outing after a couple of woeful outings at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian duo will return after a two-month pause to regroup on the BWF World Tour. New Coaching Strategies for Sindhu Sindhu has revamped her coaching team – she has brought in Anup Sridhar as her interim coach and South Korean legend Lee Syun Il as a consultant. She needed this after her previous coach, Agus Dwi Santoso, left in the wake of her premature exit from Paris 2024. The sixth seeded Sindhu will start off against Canada’s Michelle Li and could face up-and-coming Japanese star Tomako Miyazaki in the next round. Lakshya Focusses On Fitness Lakshya Sen is using his off-time to work on his physiques. He was to take tests at Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre in Salzburg to understand where he is fitness-wise. Unseeded in this tournament, Lakshya Sen will meet Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke and would like a return encounter against seventh seed Chou Tien Chen, whom he won in the Olympics. Young Contingent And Absences The team is represented by the very much in-form Kidambi Srikanth, who will be competing in the qualification rounds after his injury comeback. The future of Indian singles looks bright with youngsters such as Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap. India will be missing HS Prannoy from their men’s singles as he will be missing the event due to fitness issues and change of coach. Also missing is the reigning men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. What To Expect At The Arctic Open? The Arctic Open is definitely a less crowded field and PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen should have a great opportunity to get back on their feet. Both athletes will indeed be under the prism of the camera because they would try to navigate through the pressures of competition and recalibrate their ambitions for the rest of the season. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Paris 2024: Lakshya Sen to Face Lee Zii Jia for Bronze
Indian star badminton player Lakshya Sen will have the opportunity once again to win an Olympic medal at Paris Olympics 2024. After engaging in a nail-biter of a semifinal against the reigning Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen, Sen lost 20-22, 14-21, and now faces off in the bronze medal match against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia on Monday, 5th August 2024, at the Adidas Arena. Determined to Make History Even with this setback, Lakshya Sen remains keen to become the first-ever Indian men’s singles shuttler to win an Olympic badminton medal and only the third Indian overall to finish on the podium. His opponent in this event, Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, also lost his semi-final encounter with the world champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, in straight games 14-21, 15-21. Head-to-head Advantage Historically, Lakshya Sen has held sway over Lee Zii Jia with a 4-1 win-loss record between them. All matches between them have been riveting and tightly fought. Indeed, Sen went on to win their last fight in the All England Open 2024 quarterfinals in an intriguingly tightly contested match, 20-22, 21-16, 21-19. Recap of Their Last Five Meetings LAKSHYA SEN VS LEE ZII JIA- LAST FIVE MEETINGS Tournament Round Winner Score All England Open 2024 Quarterfinal Lakshya Sen 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 Indonesia Open 2023 Round of 32 Lakshya Sen 21-17, 21-13 Thomas Cup 2022 Quarterfinal Lee Zii Jia 21-23, 9-21 All England Open 2022 Semifinal Lakshya Sen 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 India International Series 2016 First Round Lakshya Sen 11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 1. India International Series (2016) Sen won that first ever clash on the junior circuit 4-0, though the format of the match was 11 points per set as opposed to the current norm. 2. All England Open 2022 Semi-Final Sen won an intense contest 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 to become the first Indian men’s singles player since Pullela Gopichand in 2001 to make it to the All England Open semi-finals. 3. Thomas Cup 2022 Quarter-Final He alone lost to Lee Zii Jia, Sen (21-23, 9-21), when he struggled with his form during the competition. 4. Indonesia Open 2023 Round of 32 Both players were struggling for form, but Sen won (21-17, 21-13). 5. All England Open 2024 Quarter-Final The exciting battle saw Sen pip Lee Zii Jia at the post (20-22, 21-16, 21-19). Looking Ahead to the Bronze Medal Match With a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over Sen, he will go into the bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024 quite confidently. While Lee Zii Jia will come back hard at him and make it a great contest, the Indian shuttler will also draw confidence from the two previous victories against Lee and will come into the bronze medal match brimmed with confidence to script history for Indian badminton at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Paris 2024: The “Lakshya” Is Set For Sen As He Becomes First Indian Man to Reach Badminton Singles Olympic Semifinals
Lakshya Sen has become the first male badminton player from India to make the Olympic Games semifinals in singles. The 22-year-old lad from Almora fought hard to win against Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 at the Arena Porte de La Chapelle here on Friday. A Hard Fought Victory It was a hard-earned victory for Lakshya that clearly showed aggression and also told a tale of defensive skills. The opening game was won by Chou, who held Lakshya at the edge through his variety of pace and cleverly disguised trick shots. The never-give-up attitude was there as he continued to slog and hang in despite the loss in his opening game. Second Game: A Turning Point The second game turned out to be a turning point. At 7-7 came one of the most disputed moments of the match, as Chou drilled one drive that seemed to drop on the backline, but Lakshya challenged, and no review was shown on the big screen; with the umpire now awarding the point to Chou because of her personal monitor, leaving Lakshya frustrated. But his coach and former All England champion, Prakash Padukone, cheered him on from the sidelines, screaming, “Josh dikhao, josh dikhao.“ Reclaiming the Initiative A revitalized Lakshya clawed his way back into the contest, showing great endurance and agility. He pulled off a brilliant no-look retrieve at 11-all, leaving Chou in a manner of speaking, surprised as he erred. Thereafter, Lakshya took charge with Chou’s rising errors taking the second game. Youth and Energy Prove Decisive The final game was eventually sealed by the youthful energy of Lakshya. He wouldn’t allow the pressure on Chou to relent with sharp exchanges and quick movements, all finally reaping success for him. Reflecting on the game, Chou said, “Lakshya was too fast today.” The Way Forward Lakshya, with the words “The sky is the limit” tattooed down his neck, echoed his ambitions post-match. “Feels good to become the first Indian [male] to reach the Olympic semifinals. I’m happy. But I am also very tired. Need to rest before my next match,” he said, looking ahead at the next challenge already. His historic run continues with Lakshya Sen advancing into the semifinals, and the Indian fans are now looking toward his next match for more pathbreaking displays. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Paris 2024: Historic All-Indian Clash in Badminton Knockout Stage
The Paris Olympics 2024 knockout is now set for an exciting all-Indian clash between Lakshya Sen and H.S. Prannoy in what had already been a landmark moment for badminton in India. Lakshya Sen, though, stole the limelight of that round by defeating the third seed and medal contender Jonatan Christie of Indonesia during the group stages in a display of his scorching talent. Prannoy, however, had to fight a difficult path to victory over Le Duc Phat of Vietnam in three intense games. Road to the Quarterfinals It is not about a patriotic battle; one of these players will advance to the quarterfinals to face the winner of the possible encounter between the fifth seed, Kodai Naraoka, and the 12th seed, Chou Tien Chen. Lakshya and Prannoy are both standing in contention to create history by picking up India’s first-ever men’s badminton medal at the Olympics, providing an added layer of intrigue to their showdown. Represented India in Other Disciplines The round of 16 is not only reserved for men’s singles in the representation from India. There is also a representation in women’s singles through seasoned P.V. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, and in men’s doubles through Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a dynamic duo that made it through the group stages. Head-to-Head Record Date Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Winner Tue 1/17/2023 India Open 2023 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen Lakshya Sen Wed 1/11/2023 Malaysia Open 2023 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen HS Prannoy Thu 10/20/2022 Denmark Open 2022 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen Lakshya Sen Thu 8/25/2022 World Championships 2022 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen HS Prannoy Wed 6/15/2022 Indonesia Open 2022 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen HS Prannoy Fri 3/11/2022 German Open 2022 HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen Lakshya Sen Fri 1/14/2022 India Open HS Prannoy Lakshya Sen Lakshya Sen Now, coming to the head-to-head record, Lakshya Sen is marginally ahead of H.S. Prannoy with a record of 4-3. Their last battle was at the India Open in January 2023, when Lakshya dominated and won comprehensively 21-14, 21-15. In this match, two stalwarts will face off against each other, and both will come up with their best performance in the court. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
