Sen loses bronze play-off to Lee, India's badminton campaign over

Paris: Young Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen suffered an inexplicable meltdown and missed out on an Olympic medal, going down in three games to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the bronze play-off at the Paris Games here Monday.

A fired-up Sen was unstoppable in the beginning but a nine-point streak from Lee in the second game changed the complexion of the match as the world number 7 Malaysian registered a 13-21 21-16 21-11 win in a 71-minute clash to secure the bronze.

"I had my chances in the second set and could have definitely done better. But credit to him, he played a really good game. I think at the moment I'm just not able to think right now," a crestfallen Sen said after the match.

"I came well prepared for this match as well. It has been quite a tough week overall. But yeah, the fatigue kept on building. But I mean, I was ready to give my 100 per cent in this match."

Sen, who needed medical attention multiple times for a injured right arm, looked indomitable in the first 30 minutes but once Lee gathered himself from a position where he was down by a game and trailing 3-8 in second, the Indian did not seem to have a plan 'B'.

His loss means that it would be the first time in 12 years that India will return without a badminton medal from the Olympics. Only Saina Nehwal (2012) and PV Sindhu (2016, 2021) have won Olympic medals for India at the biggest sporting stage with the latter's silver in Rio being the best performance.

The medal-favourite men's doubles pair of Satwaiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had also returned empty-handed as India's badminton campaign ended on a disappointing note.

A key member of the Indian badminton team and a part of the historic Thomas Cup winning squad, Sen was gunning to become India's first male shuttler to win an Olympic medal. The match began with a long rally but Sen hit top gear early.

The Indian largely played on the backhand side of his rival, logging easy points as there was no fight at all. The calculated drop shots set up easy points for Sen as he drew his rival on the forecourt. Even the Malaysian tried to play on backhand of Sen but the India was hardly perturbed, leading 11-6 at the break.

There was no sting or intent in Lee's shots as he just played very defensive and was catching up to erase the deficit which was increasing with each shot. (PTI)