Sen overcame Chou Tien Chen in a thrilling match that featured thrilling rallies, requiring three games to decide the winner: 19-21, 21-15, and 21-12.
In the men’s singles badminton quarterfinals on Friday, Lakshya Sen of India continued his incredible run in his first Olympic campaign, defeating Chou Tien Chen of Taipei, the 12th-seeded player from China.
In a thriller filled with high-octane rallies, Sen would ultimately triumph against Chou Tien Chen, taking it to three games of 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.
Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympics, joining the ranks of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth as the only male shuttlers to do so. Sen won admirably against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia and his Indian counterpart HS Prannoy.
Sen’s victory makes him the first male shuttler from India to advance to the men’s badminton semifinals in the Olympics.
Sen’s next opponent is scheduled to face either Viktor Axelsen or Loh Kean Yew on August 4.
In the opening game, both shuttlers maintained their composure and exchanged points to keep the match closely contested.
After that, Chen turned up the heat, surprising Sen with some ferocious smashes and deft footwork to take a 5-2 lead.
But the Indian refused to give up and found a different gear, drawing even at 5-5 once more.
Sen would come to regret Chen’s pretended hostility. However, the young 22-year-old made up for it with his signature reflexes as they engaged in a furious struggle and exchanged points once more, with Chen winning the first game 10–11 at the half.
The World No. 12 Chen would not be stopped after the break, as he would go on a rampage and score the next three points to put Sen under pressure. However, the Indian resisted giving up and fought back to tie the game at 15–15.
Sen would score the next two points to take the lead, continuing his onslaught. However, a thrilling series of rallies would follow as Chen defeated Sen and pulled off a 21-19 victory.
Sen’s initial setback would only fuel him more in the second half, as he overcame the Taipei national 4-1 by starting the match with pure aggression.
However, as previously demonstrated, Chen’s well-thought-out attacks would only enable him to rally and defeat Sen, as the score would eventually turn 5-4 in Chen’s favor.
However, a fierce back-and-forth between the shuttlers would result in another intense battle, with Sen leading 11–10 at the halftime break.
Sen would eventually turn up the heat again, overwhelming Chen and building a 5-point lead at 18-13 to eventually hold onto the lead and seal the second game 21-15 to force Chen to the final decider. After that, there would be no stopping the two.
