Winning a badminton Olympic medal requires reaching the 21st point of the final set played in a bronze playoff. To put it in the most blasé fashion, Lakshya Sen fell 10 points short of that in his 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 loss to Lee Zii Jia, and took 72 minutes, the longest amongst Paris shuttlers, to lose a medal.
Lakshya Sen played more matches than anyone else in Paris, and was on court the longest this last week, but will sign off from Paris with an enhanced stature, but a 4th place finish, amounting to nothing in the all-important medals column.
It will hurt, for this is also India’s first Olympics in 12 years without a badminton medal. But Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar, will have a few things to say in a debrief, bluntly, before Lakshya Sen moves on from this. You could be the brightest prodigy from your country, have scalped the biggest names at the Games early, played an extraordinary valiant match against the eventual gold medallist and impressed the whole world, but Lakshya Sen needed to beat Zii Jia for a bronze, and he floundered.
Indian men’s badminton remains medal-less, and Lakshya Sen’s absolute effort in a gutting result showed just how tough it is to nail down, and why the biggest names from Pullela Gopichand to Kidambi Srikanth, and now Lakshya Sen, haven’t managed to do it. Lakshya Sen’s falling apart on two consecutive days, increases appreciation for PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who got the job done in similarly difficult fields.
Lakshya Sen started tremendously on Monday, before the blues struck. But he’s been finishing poorly all through the qualification period, and his game, however spectacular it looks, remains incomplete. He was error-free in the opening set, hammering those cross courts, and finding the back lines, till the famously fragile Malaysian began finding his own radar on the back lifts. Lakshya Sen had a Plan B on the day. He charged the net imperiously with his explosive stride and led from start to finish going from 14-9 to 21-13. So far, so good.
The Malaysian who carries hopes of an entire nation, a badminton obsessed nation, in men’s singles, where they have three silvers, is not merely ordinary. He was 1-4 against Lakshya Sen going into this playoff, but he boasts of an extraordinary attack in his steep smashing game, dependable control on the backhand at the net, and endless points to prove to those he’s bickered back home with. A former All England champion, he knew to pounce on Sen at the first hint of the Indian lapsing.
India’s Lakshya Sen during the Men’s Singles Semifinal badminton match against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)
Lakshya Sen led the second 8-3. He was finding ridiculous angles on the cross, furious on the net kills, when Zii Jia started pinging him with body smashes at 8-6. Sen’s errors suddenly started piling up, and a large part of it was down to the lifts. His inadvertent and deliberate lifts just didn’t go high and deep enough, and were easiest put-downs for Zii Jia on his forehand at the midcourt. Sen criminally flick-served and whatever little circumspection the Malaysian had on his radar was cured in a jiffy.
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From 8-3 up, Lakshya Sen went into a shell, ceding 8 straight points. In a clump. Zii Jia leveled at 12-12 and raced away to take the set 21-16.
Lakshya Sen took a bunch of medical timeouts to tend to an elbow bleed. But all the bandaging was only tampering his own focus, as his poise came undone in the decider. Sen’s defense can seem outrageously good, but like Axelsen, Zii Jia has a big attack that can rumble deep, kicking out the doors.
The Malaysian took the lead at 7-2 in the decider. But the next rally showed how badly he wanted this medal. He slipped and stumbled and was on all fours on all axis, barely hanging in three different ways. But he stuck it out there to win a humongous rally.
Next, Lakshya Sen showed indecision (and tiredness) on the backline twice, letting the shuttle fall in. It was the start of the decline. His usually reliable net tumble cost him points as Zii Jia grew in confidence, and his weak lifts did him no good. It was passivity all over again just like against Axelsen as he watched the match and the bronze slip by. It wasn’t even the crunch. He was a good 10 points adrift.
Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.
Professional Profile
Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express.
Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.
Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.
Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)
Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:
Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.
PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.
The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.
Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.
Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes.
Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)
The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)
Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)
Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)
Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)
Other Sports Interests
Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.
You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More
India’s Lakshya Sen during the Men’s Singles Semifinal badminton match against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)