Paris: Lakshya Sen pulled off an upset win over the third seed Indonesian Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12 in his final Group L men’s singles match at the Paris Olympics.
Despite a rocky start which saw the Indian trailing 8-2 in the first game, Sen dug deep to turn the game on its head and fought back to level it at 10-all. A topsy-turvy encounter saw both shuttlers tied at 18-18 before Sen pulled ahead to take the 21-18 win in the first game.
The 22-year old continued his aggressive style of play and brilliantly fended of any attempts that the World No. 4 shuttler made of inching back into the game, sealing the match with a 21-12 win in the second game.
The win sealed Lakshya’s spot in the pre-quarterfinal round, where he may face compatriot H.S Prannoy if the latter wins his matchup against Vietnamese shuttler Le Duc Phat later in the day.
India’s medal hope in the women’s singles category, PV Sindhu was in action before Sen’s match, where she comfortably defeated Estonia’s Kristin Kuuba 21-5, 21-10 and topped Group M to seal Round of 16 berth.
