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Lakshya Sen and Skeet shooters lose bronze medal at Olympics
On Aug.5, the Indian medal tally still stood at three bronze medals, all won in shooting.
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Lakshya Sen and The Mixed skeet shooting team of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka. / X/@WeAreTeamIndia
Indian hopes of increasing its medal tally were dashed on Aug.5 when badminton star Lakshya Sen and the skeet mixed shooting team of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka fumbled in their bronze medal matches to finish fourth in their respective events.
The Indian contingent was rooting for Sen to make history by becoming the country's first male badminton medalist. But he faced a formidable challenge in the form of Zii Jin Lee of Malaysia, who was seeded seventh.
By using controlled stroke play, Sen got off to a flying start, winning the first set 21-13 against his Malaysian opponent. The Malaysian, however, came out of the first-set loss to start controlling the game. His variation, drop shots and smashes caught Sen on wring foot repeatedly. Though the Indian player tried hard, a few long shots at crucial moments saw the Malaysian take the second set at 16-21.
Zii Jin Lee maintained a complete lead throughout the third and final set. He did not allow Sen to settle down. Playing his strokes with tremendous ease, he made Sen commit a series of errors to ace to a 21-11 win in the final set to take the bronze medal.
There is a lot more of @lakshya_sen to come. An incredible campaign, making it all the way to the medal match! Top effort from a top athlete!#JeetKiAur | #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/7AGatgpHdk
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 5, 2024
It is for the first time since the 2012 London Olympic Games that India has ended without a badminton medal. Saina Nehwal won a bronze in women’s singles in London followed by a silver medal finish by PV Sindhu in Rio and a back-to-back by PV Sindhu saw her getting a bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
India had pinned high hopes on PV Sindhu to make it three in a row besides expecting a medal from the men’s doubles team of Ranki Reddy and Chirag Shetty. Like PV Sindhu, Reddy and Shetty could not cross the pre-quarterfinal hurdle. In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen beat compatriot HS Prannoy in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals. He then beat Tien Chen Chou of Taipei to enter the semis but lost to the defending champion Viktor Alexsen.
In the Skeet Mixed event, the Indian team of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka lost a close battle for the bronze medal to its Chinese opponent team of Yiting Jiang and Jianlin Lyu. Earlier in the qualifying round, the Indian team shot well to share the joint third spot with China with an aggregate score of 146 each. On Aug.5, the Indian medal tally still stood at three bronze medals, all won in shooting.
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