Lakshya Sen Advances to Olympic Quarterfinals

Lakshya Sen has advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a dominant straight-games victory over compatriot HS Prannoy, winning 21-12, 21-6 in just 39 minutes. This achievement makes Sen the third Indian male player to reach this stage in Olympic badminton, joining the ranks of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth. Despite a strong start, Prannoy struggled due to fatigue from a recent illness and a prior match, ultimately unable to keep pace with Sen's aggressive play. Sen will now face 12th seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the hopes of Indian men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were dashed as they lost to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik after leading in the first game. Despite the doubles setback, Sen's progress keeps India's badminton aspirations alive at the Olympics.