Five reasons why India failed to medal in badminton at Paris Olympics 2024

Lakshya Sen became the first male Indian badminton player to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics.

India’s Olympic campaign in badminton came to a halt after Lakshya Sen lost to Malaysia’s World No. 7, Lee Zii Jia, in the bronze medal match. At the Paris Olympics, India were said to have their best shot in badminton, with multiple medal opportunities.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in January 2024 and reclaimed their spot again in May. They were among the favourites for gold in the men’s double category. Apart from Sen and “SatChi,” India had two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu competing for her third Olympic medal.

HS Prannoy, who had defeated Viktor Axelsen multiple times, was also a medal contender. While not the favourites, India also had Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in the women’s doubles category. With all these big names, what went wrong for India that they could not even medal in a single badminton event? Here are five probable reasons:

5. Ashwini & Tanisha could not cause an upset

World No.19 pair, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, qualified for the Paris Olympics over Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. Despite showcasing some good badminton, they could not match the level of the other top doubles pairs and eventually bowed out in the group.

While there was no medal for India in badminton this year, there are many positives to take from the experience. Lakshya Sen almost overpowered Viktor Axelsen. In Viktor Axelsen‘s own words, he believes that Lakshya Sen will compete for the gold medal at the 2028 LA Olympics.

4. HS Prannoy suffered viral infection before Olympics

World No. 13 HS Prannoy is often considered a medal contender and goes by the name ‘Giant Killer.’ However, he was struck down by chikungunya earlier this month and had to spend five days in the hospital.

This setback was visible in his performances, as he lost a set to World No. 64 Le Duc Phat. He eventually lost to Lakshya Sen in the Round of 16, highlighting the impact of his illness on his game.

3. PV Sindhu could not gain form after injury

India’s star shuttler PV Sindhu dominated her group matches with straight games victories. In the Round of 16, she faced China’s He Bing Jao, whom she had defeated in Tokyo to win the bronze medal. However, this time, the Chinese player won the match in straight games.

This result was not surprising, as Sindhu had not achieved much success since the Tokyo Olympics due to a stress fracture in her left ankle in 2022, followed by a series of injuries.

2. Satwik/Chirag’s disappointing exit in quarter-finals

Medal favourites and former World No. 1 pair, Satwik and Chirag, comfortably won their group matches. They faced World No. 3 Chia-Soh from Malaysia in the quarter-finals. The Indians easily won the first game 21-13. In the second game, Satwik and Chirag had a 4-0 lead, which eventually came down to a 1-point deficit before the interval. The Malaysians then picked up the pace and won the second game 21-14.

The final game was all nerves. Satwik and Chirag initially trailed 2-5, but took the lead at the interval. However, after leading 13-11, their nerves showed as they made unforced errors and lost six straight points, going from 16-15 to 16-21, resulting in a heartbreaking exit for the Indians.

1. Lakshya Sen’s inability to convert winning positions

Lakshya Sen made headlines after defeating World No. 3 Jonatan Christie in the group. He then went on to defeat two big names, HS Prannoy and Chou Tien Chen, to enter the semi-finals. Sen was leading 20-17 in the first game against Viktor Axelsen; however, he could not capitalize and lost the game 22-20.

In the second game as well, Lakshya Sen had a massive 7-0 lead, which quickly narrowed down to a 1-point advantage at the interval. From then on, Axelsen looked in complete control as he won the second game 21-14.

After the defeat to Axelsen, Sen faced Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match and comfortably won the first game. Lakshya had an 8-3 lead in the second game, but it quickly vanished as Lee took eight straight points to lead 11-8 at the interval. From there on, Lee took the upper hand and won the match. This showed Lakshya’s inability to convert winning positions, which cost India a podium finish.

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