File photo of Lakshya Sen© AFP
Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen impressed everyone with his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics but failed to secure the bronze medal by a slim margin. Lakshya became the first Indian player to reach the semi-finals of badminton at the Olympics but his dream of reaching the gold medal match was dashed after a loss against top seed Viktor Axelsen. Lakshya took on Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match but was once again defeated. Though he failed to add an Olympic medal to his name, his performance earned him a lot of praise and during a recent interaction, the youngster revealed his dream of becoming the “Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years.”
“I want to say why not, but again, he has done a lot for Indian cricket. Yes, I want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years,” he said on The Ranveer Show podcast.
Lakshya also spoke about his camaraderie with Tokyo and Paris gold medallist Viktor Axelsen. He said he was inspired by Axelsen and they also trained together in Dubai.
“I have been very inspired by the way he conducts himself on and off the court. I had a two-week training period with him, where I was able to play and practice. Again, this Olympic semi-final match against him. Yes, again it has been quite inspiring for me to have played and to know that in the match I beat him. I had beaten him in the past as well. These kinds of things motivate me to know that yes, I am on the right path, but again there is a lot of work to do,” she added.
Earlier, Axelsen also praised Lakshya and even made a huge prediction.
“Lakshya is an incredible player. He has shown at these Olympics that he is a very, very strong competitor and I am sure that in four years' time he will be one of the favourites to win gold. He is incredibly talented and a great guy and I wish him all the best,” said Axelsen.
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