Star shuttler Lakshya Sen produced a photo-finish moment at the Paris Olympics by pulling off a stunning no-look behind-the-back shot to absolute perfection en-route his 21-18, 21-12 win in the virtual knockout encounter against third-seed Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles Group L match on Wednesday.
Sen, unseeded at the Summer Games, wrapped up the third seed Christie in 50 minutes at the La Chapelle Arena on Wednesday to secure a berth in the round of 16.
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Despite the reigning All England champion starting from the favourable end and leading the first game 8-2, the 22-year-old Indian bounced back with high intensity to take the contest to 18-19 in his favour and then came the sensational piece of play.
Christie placed the shuttle to the left of the Indian hoping to catch him on the wrong foot, and Lakshya, whose balance was taking him away from the shuttle, came up with a blinder from behind his back to retrieve the shuttle to absolute perfection, amidst a loud cheer from the crowd. Sen soon closed the opener in his favour after a frustrated Christie then hit the shuttle out of bounds.
The Indian ace rolled over Christie in the second game, riding on the confidence of having won a tough opener and the support from the crowd.
With two wins in two matches, Sen also topped the men’s singles Group L. He could face his compatriot HS Prannoy, an Asian Games bronze medallist, in the round of 16, provided the latter wins his final group stage match later on Wednesday night.
Earlier in the day, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu kept herself in contention for a hat-trick of Olympic medals after getting past Kristin Kuuba of Estonia 21-5, 21-10 in the women’s singles Group M match. The win secured a place in the round of 16 for the Hyderabad shuttler.
Sindhu, currently 13th in the BWF world rankings, bagged eight consecutive points to begin the first game against world No. 73 Kuuba. While the Estonian shuttler showcased more resistance in the second game, she was unable to match Sindhu’s intensity. The two-time Olympic medallist won the match in 34 minutes at the La Chapelle Arena.
Sindhu could potentially face He Bingjiao, a Youth Olympics champion, in the pre-quarterfinal. Notably, Sindhu beat He Bingjiao of China to secure her bronze in Tokyo, three years ago.
