Lakshya Sen's Historic Olympic Semifinals Qualification

Lakshya Sen became the first male Indian shuttler to qualify for the singles semifinals at the Olympic Games after an intense match against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei. Despite losing the first game, Sen made a remarkable recovery to win the quarterfinals in 75 minutes.

Lakshya Sen achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first male Indian shuttler to reach the singles semifinals at the Olympic Games. The 22-year-old from Almora overcame the challenge posed by Chinese Taipei's world number 11, Chou Tien Chen, in a gripping quarterfinal match on Friday.

Despite losing the first game 19-21, Sen bounced back strongly to secure victories in the next two games, 21-15 and 21-12, in a contest that lasted 75 minutes. His comeback revived India's badminton campaign after previous setbacks, including the exit of PV Sindhu and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Sen's victory not only surpasses the achievements of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, who both reached the quarterfinals in earlier Olympic editions, but also highlights his determination and preparation for the long haul, which paid off handsomely.

(With inputs from agencies.)