Lakshya bang on! Underdog Lakshya Sen beats medal contender Christie to reach last 16 on his Olympic debut
Paris Olympics group match, Lakshya Sen was at a 1-4 disadvantage in the head-tohead record against third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
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The unseeded world No. 22 Indian was the underdog against the reigning All England champion, who was unbeaten in their last four clashes. To overcome the challenge, Sen needed to do something special, or as he said, be in ‘Sen mode’. On Wednesday, he did that and knocked out one of the medal favourites with an impressive 21-18, 21-12 victory to reach the knockout round on his Olympic debut.
Looking at the scoreline, it might seem like a commanding win for the Indian. It was anything but. Sen was down 2-8 at the start of the game and it took a great effort to come back into the game. His movements were a sight to behold and some of the shots were just picture per- fect that will remain etched in memory for a long time.
Despite all the efforts, Christie still man- aged to retain the lead at 18-16 in the first game, and it seemed the world No. 4 would edge out the Indian. That’s when Sen turned the match on its head with his quick footwork and strong defence to win five straight points to close the game. The highlight of the first game was obviously how Sen set up the game point – a no look reflex shot from behind the back to stay in the point, which compelled Christie to hit long.
In the second game, Sen didn’t
