India’s Lakshya Sen faltered in the initial stages but made a brilliant comeback to script a 21-18, 21-12 victory over third-seeded Indonesian Jonathan Christie in the Group L match of the Men’s Singles Badminton event in Paris 2024 on Wednesday.
However, one of the most interesting moments of the match emerged in the first game when the 22-year-old unfurled a behind-the-back shot to stun the Indonesian in the first game and take a 20-18 lead.
Soon, after Sen executed the shot to perfection, the commentators on the live-streaming channel ‘JioCinema’ exclaimed it was a ‘Rajnikant move’.
Watch the stunning moment unfold here:
Lakshya Sen Mad Bro 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/m9A4VTCFdh
— Rahul Gummadi (@TweetinRahul) July 31, 2024
Sen continued to carry on his fine momentum in the second game as he closed the match at 21-12 to enter the Round of 16 in 50 minutes. It was his sixth meeting against the Indonesian, after having dropped four matches between the pair since their first meeting in 2020.
The Indian prodigy registered his third consecutive win in straight games at the Paris 2024 after defeating Julien Carraggi of Belgium 21-19, 21-14 and Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20. He will now take on the winner of the Group K clash between HS Prannoy and Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat in the next round of the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, India’s badminton hopes continue to march on the shoulders of men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who qualified in the quarters and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu who entered the pre-quarters.
