Indian Badminton Stars Face Setbacks in Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics 2024 witnessed significant setbacks for Indian badminton stars. In the men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced a heartbreaking defeat against Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik with scores of 21-13, 14-21, 16-21, marking their ninth loss against the Malaysian pair. Similarly, P.V. Sindhu's hopes for a third Olympic medal were dashed after losing to China's He Bing Jiao in straight sets. On a brighter note, Lakshya Sen managed to advance to the quarterfinals by defeating compatriot H.S. Prannoy, who was recovering from chikungunya. Meanwhile, Malaysian duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik also narrowly lost to China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the men's doubles semi-finals, ending their gold medal aspirations but giving them a chance at bronze.