While Lakshya Sen made history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semifinals, his bronze medal match loss to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia underscored a recurring theme of near misses for the team.
Prakash Padukone, Indian badminton legend and team mentor, expressed his disappointment, emphasizing the ample support and resources provided to the players.
“All the support and finances needed to perform at the top level were given to the Indian players. It’s not like earlier times when our players lacked facilities and funds. So, it’s high time our players step up and win as expected,” Padukone told reporters, as quoted by IANS.
“I am a little disappointed in our performance that we could not even get a single medal from Badminton. Like I have said before, we were contenders for three medals so at least one would have made me happy. But having said this, this time the Government, Sports Authority of India, and Sports Ministry everybody has done their best and I don’t think anyone could have done anything more than what the Government has done so I think the players also need to take responsibility,” added the veteran.
Sen’s journey, though historic, ended in a heartbreaking 13-21, 21-16, 11-21 defeat. Despite a strong start in the final match, Sen faltered in the latter stages, allowing Lee Zii Jia to seize control.
Padukone attributed the loss partly to Sen’s discomfort playing on the faster side of the court.
“He played well but of course, I am a little disappointed, he could not finish it yesterday too, he was in a winning position in the first game, and could have probably made a difference yesterday itself. After winning the first game he was leading 8-3 today, he has always been a little uncomfortable playing on the faster side so he has to work on that,” explained Padukone.
Other Indian shuttlers also faced early exits. P.V. Sindhu, a strong medal contender, lost in the Round of 16 to China’s He Bing Jiao. The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty exited in the quarterfinals, while H.S. Prannoy lost to Sen in the Round of 16. The women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto were unable to progress beyond the group stage.
