Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen suffered an inexplicable meltdown and missed out on an Olympic medal after losing to Malaysia’s Lee Zijia in three games in the bronze play-off at the Paris Games on Monday. A fired-up Sen was unstoppable early on but a nine-point run from Lee in the second game changed the complexion of the match as the world No. 7 Malaysian cruised to a 13-21 21-16 21-11 win. Minute competition to get bronze medal.

“I had my chances in the second set and definitely could have done better. But to his credit, he played a great game. I guess I can’t think right now,” a Crist Fallon. Sen said. Match.

“I was well prepared for this match as well. Overall it has been quite a tough week. But yes, the fatigue is there. But I mean I was ready to give my 100 per cent in this match.”

Sen, who needed medical attention several times for a right arm injury, looked unstoppable in the first 30 minutes but once Lee rallied from a position where they were a game down and second I was trailing 3-8, Indians didn’t seem like it. A plan is ‘B’.

Sean needed to replace his belt, which was covered by an injury three times during the match, which caused several stoppages in the game.

The Indian said it affected his pace.

“There was blood on the floor between points so they had to clean it up. Sometimes, I lost momentum to take a break in the game and then come back and try to refocus on the match. But overall the hand is fine. ,” he said.

His loss means it will be the first time in 12 years that India will return from the Olympics without a badminton medal.

Only Saina Nehwal (2012) and PV Sindhu (2016, 2021) have won Olympic medals for India on the sport’s biggest stage, with a silver in Rio being the best performance since.

Medal favorite men’s doubles pair of Satwaiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also returned empty-handed as India’s badminton campaign ended on a disappointing note.

A key member of the Indian badminton team and a part of the historic Thomas Cup-winning squad, Sen was aiming to become India’s first male shuttler to win an Olympic medal.

The match started with a long rally but Cena soon hit top gear. The Indian played largely on the backhand side of his opponent, scoring easy points as there was no fight.

Calculated drop shots set up easy points for Sen as he drew his opponent to the forecourt. Malaysia even tried to play on Sen’s backhand but India were hardly bothered, leading 11-6 at the break.

There was no sting or intent in Lee’s shots as he was just playing very defensively and catching to erase the deficit that was growing with each shot.

The Malaysian’s only smart play was when he jumped for an overhead smash but left the shuttle ahead, caught Sen off-foot and then came up with a winner in the open court.

Sen closed out the first game when she hit a lightning-fast backhand and Lee’s return went to the baseline.

The second game started the same way as soon after, Sen took an 8-3 lead after beating Lee on his backhand.

Sen looked to be pulling back but then the story took a turn when he reeled off nine points in a row, giving the Malaysian a chance to claw his way back into the contest.

Returns, body smashes and most importantly an intent from Lee that started moving the Indian to both sides of the court.

From 3-8 down, Malaysia made it 12-8 and ran away with the game, forcing a decider.

Lee made a powerful start to the game with huge smashes and continued with a strategy of running away with the game and Sen’s attack completely collapsed.

Even when Sean was in an advantageous position to end the point, like at 2-7, he couldn’t make incredible recoveries and moves with Lee with his reflexes and powerful shots.

With a 9-4 lead and momentum on his side, Lee came down hard on Sen, who was struggling to mount a strong comeback. It ended in style, as Lee delivered a body smash that the Indians couldn’t return.