Reigning Olympic Gold medallist Viktor Axelsen showered praise on Lakshya Sen after his 22-20 21-14 win against the Indian in the semifinal of Men’s singles Badminton in the ongoing Paris Olympics. Sen had a golden opportunity to take the opening game at 20-17 but he could not convert three game points.
However, the Dane bounced back strongly, winning the next five points on the trot to take the opening game. In the second game, Sen quickly raced to a 7-0 lead but the number two seed once again bounced back into the match.
From there, Viktor won 15 out of the next 20 points to make it 15-12 in his favor. The 30-year-old Tokyo Olympic gold medallist soon wrapped up the game to assure himself another Olympic medal.
After the match, the Dane tipped Sen as one of the strongest contenders for the gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
“Lakshya is an amazing player. He has shown in this Olympics that he is a very, very strong competitor and I am sure in four years from now, he will be one of the favourites to win the gold,” Axelsen told ‘Jio Cinema’ after the win on Sunday.
“An amazing talent and a great guy and I wish him all the best. He was playing so well in the big parts of both games, but I managed to relax and play the right game and win the match. But all credit to him as well,” he added.
Viktor feels his experience made the difference and admitted that Sen dominated the match but he was able to keep his calm in the crunch situations.
“I think the experience made a difference today. I think Lakshya, he played better than I did in big parts of the game. So he could have won the match,” said Axelsen, who is one win away from joining Chinese legend Lin Dan as a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
Axelsen feels the Indian started thinking too far ahead in the game and at the same time, he was a bit nervous when the big points came.
“If you start to think, then you have problems. And I think Lakshya, he thought a lot about it. It was a big thing for him obviously, I know what the rings does to you mentally,” the Dane said.
“He was maybe, starting to think, ‘oh, if I grab this set then I have the momentum, I have a big chance’. But again, it’s so natural to think like that. I’ve been there myself and I think he got a little bit nervous.
“And when you get nervous, I know that I have to strike and I have to keep the shot on the court and play the right shots because then he will maybe make a mistake because of nerves.”
Sen will be up against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze-medal match on Monday.
