Indian badminton heavyweights PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s singles events respectively with some terrific performances. While Sidhu was the favourite going into the encounter, Lakshya had to face the third seed Jonatan Christie in his final group game. Lakshya didn’t just march past the Indonesian superstar with a straight sets victory, but also displayed the kind of shots that left the entire Indian sporting fraternity in awe. In fact, one ‘behind-the-back shot’ from Lakshya went viral on social media to the extent that industrialist Anand Mahindra asked his opponent Christie to file a suit against the Indian.
Sen was simply sensational in his 21-18 21-12 thrashing of Indonesia’s world number 4 Jonatan Christie, the reigning All England and Asian champion. Mahindra, seeing Sen’s gameplay, said that the young shuttler might as well be an alien with three hands.
“If I was his opponent, I would cry foul & file a suit claiming that I was confronted by an unnatural opponent who possessed three arms…,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
If I was his opponent, I would cry foul & file a suit claiming that I was confronted by an unnatural opponent who possessed three arms…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 31, 2024
“I think it was a tough match today, happy with the way I played,” world number 22 Sen said.
“Yes, definitely (gold is in sight). I think the last few months the form has been really good. There has been ups and downs, but overall, I was in good shape in the last few months, and especially while playing here in the French Open, I found my momentum and from.
“I was just trying to build up for a good event and I’m really pumped up to fight every match and every point.”
While Sen will face HS Prannoy in an all-Indian contest next, Sindhu is likely to be up against world number 9 Chinese He Bingjiao, against whom she has lost 11 times and won on nine occasions.
The only time Sen had defeated Christie was four years ago at the Badminton Asia Team Championships and came into this match with a dismal 1-4 head-to-head count.
However, Sen showed great maturity and tactical acumen as he tried to keep the shuttle flat and targeted the weak forehand of Christie, who looked to slow down the rallies and used his cross-court shots at the corners to trouble the Indian, albeit without much success.
In the first game, Christie opened up a 8-2 lead. However, Sen regrouped quickly, kept the shuttle flat and waited for his opponent to make mistakes. Soon he moved to 7-8 before a thunderous forehand smash earned the Indian a slim one-point advantage.
Sen engaged Christie in fast and flat exchanges to move to 14-12 but the Indonesian drew parity at 16-16 with a precise cross-court smash, which a diving Sen couldn’t reach and soon eked out a two-point lead at 18-16. A straight smash from Sen was followed by a wide smash from Christie, and it was 18-18.
A perfect flat push and then an incredible behind-the-back return in the middle of the next rally gave Sen game point and he converted it easily.
After the change of sides, Sen made some judgment errors as the two were tied 3-3. The Indian kept peppering the back court with his pushes and smashes and played at a high tempo. His reflex defence was also rock solid as he moved to 10-5.
Another error from Christie, and it was a five-point advantage for Sen at the halfway mark. The Indian kept his opponent at bay with a barrage of strokes and didn’t allow him to come to the net.
The Indonesian made too many errors in desperation, missing the lines often as Sen moved to 18-12. Another flat exchange ended at the net as Sen inched closer to the line.
Another long rally ended with a long shot for the Indonesian as Sen grabbed eight match points and when the Indonesian sent another to the net, the Indian rejoiced.
With PTI Inputs
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