Lakshya Sen was at his absolute best in a virtual knockout encounter on Wednesday against the third seed Jonatan Christie in the men's singles badminton match at the Paris Olympics. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
Christie began on a high note racing away with the lead right from the first rally. The Indonesian stretched his lead to 8-2 in no time. However, this was when Sen started to claw his way back.
Point by point, 22-year-old made his comeback and not just equalised but also took the lead. However, Christie ensured Sen would not run away with the lead.
An intense back and forth continued as both the shuttlers aimed to wrap the first game in their favour. It was 18-19 in favour of the Indian as the game intensified and then came the sensational piece of play.
Christie placed the shuttle to Sen's left hoping to catch his opponent on the wrong foot. Sen whose balance was taking him away from the shuttle knew the footwork would not suffice. So, he retrieved the shuttle from behind his back. To absolute perfection.
The two opponents exchanged a shot and a frustrated Christie then hit the shuttle out of bounds to put Sen on the cusp of clinching the first game, which the Indian soon did.
