Lakshya Sen's projected path to gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024

Lakshya Sen’s group at the Summer Games is undoubtedly the ‘Group of Death.’

Ace shuttler Lakshya Sen will have his task cut out to secure a podium finish at the Paris Olympics 2024, as he has been handed an unfavourable draw. The draws for all categories, barring the men’s doubles event, were unveiled by the BWF on Friday, July 12.

The World No. 19 shuttler has been placed in Group L, which also consists of third-seeded Indonesian Jonathan Christie, Guatemalan Kevin Cordon and Belgian Julien Carraggi. Interestingly, Group P is the only other group to have four members.

The 22-year-old had health concerns and was facing fitness issues last year. At one point, he had nine consecutive first round exits on the World Tour. Things were looking bleak, but with decent performances at prestigious tournaments this year: the French Open and the All England Championships ensured that he finished 12th on the ‘Race to Paris’ charts, with 64021 points and qualified for the Olympics.

His last tournament was the Indonesia Open in June, where he went down fighting against fourth seed Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals. He was supposed to take part in the Canada Open earlier this month, but had to withdraw due to visa issues.

The lad from Almora has a lot of potential and is capable of challenging the best. It will be interesting to see how he performs in what will be a tough field in Paris. Let us now have a look at his projected path, if he is to reach the gold medal match.

Group Stage: Jonathan Christie, Kevin Cordon and Julien Carraggi

Lakshya will have a major headache in the group itself, as he will be up against third-seeded Christie. The Indian shuttler has lost his previous four encounters against the Indonesian. With only the group topper proceeding, Lakshya must change the narrative this time around.

He shouldn’t have much of a problem in the remaining two matches, as he goes up against World No. 41 Cordon and World No. 52 Carraggi, against both of whom he has a blemish-free record. While Cordon did finish fourth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the 37-year-old is no longer the player he used to be.

Round of 16: HS Prannoy

If the 2021 World Championship bronze medalist emerges unscathed, he will be mostly up against compatriot HS Prannoy, who has been placed with much lower-ranked players in Group K.

HS Prannoy has been facing a lot of health issues recently. The 13th seed has struggled for form, having reached the quarter-finals of a tournament only twice this year. In terms of head-to-head, Sen leads by a slender margin of 4-3.

Quarter-finals: Kodai Naraoka/ Chou Tien Chen

If Lakshya reaches the quarter-finals, fifth seed Kodai Naraoka is the likeliest opponent. The Japanese shuttler was the runner-up in the World Championships last year. Both of them have been playing against each other since their junior years, with Kodai having the wood over him. The Indian has only won once in their previous four meetings.

The other contender is the 12th seed Chou Tien Chen. Interestingly, he might be troubled in the group itself, having to face a formidable opponent in Lee Cheuk Yiu. But, if he emerges as the group topper, he will be up against Kodai (barring a mighty upset) in the Round of 16.

If the Chinese Taipei shuttler and the Indian meet in the quarter-finals, the former would have a favourable match-up, as he has won three matches in the four encounters between them.

ALSO READ: Full list of badminton players who have been flag-bearers at Summer Olympics

Semi-finals: Viktor Axelsen/ Li Shi Feng

If Lakshya enters the semi-finals, he will become the first Indian man to do so at the Olympics. To assure himself of at least a silver, he would in all likelihood be up against second-seeded Dane Viktor Axelsen. The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist has dominated the circuit for years and seemed like a demi-god. Very few were successful in beating him.

He has had slip-ups recently, though, along with some injury concerns. Eventually, he lost his position at the top of the rankings. But, you can trust him to be fully fit and hungry to defend his crown. Lakshya has faced the wrath of the 30-year-old many times, with him winning just one match in eight meetings.

If the Dane is to be beaten, the most likely source will be sixth-seeded Li Shi Feng. The Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist, too, has been playing with Lakshya since his junior days. Despite the recent success of the Chinese shuttler in various tournaments, the Indian has been comfortable playing against him, defeating him four times in their last five meetings.

Final: Shi Yu Qi/ Anders Antonsen/ Kunlavut Vitidsarn

If Lakshya reaches the gold medal match, he could potentially be up against first seed Shi Yu Qi. The Chinese shuttler has been a revelation recently and did the improbable task of dethroning Axelsen. He has already won four titles this year! The Chinese shuttler holds a slender edge over Lakshya, leading 2-1 in three meetings.  

Another possible candidate is fourth-seeded Anders Antonsen. The European champion has been in form this year. He will also have the additional advantage of not having to play the Round of 16 in Paris. Antonsen handed Lakshya a fourth loss at the Indonesia Open this year, in six meetings between them.

One obviously cannot rule out eighth-seeded Thai Kunlavut Vitidsarn to be the winner of the top half of the draw, but the reigning world champion will need to play out of his skin to do so.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram