Star shuttler Viktor Axelsen wishes Lakshya Sen won a medal from the Paris 2024 Olympics. The eventual gold medalist in men's singles had defeated Lakshya Sen in the semifinals in Paris. Axelsen stated his desire in a reply to one of Lakshya's posts on X (Twitter).
Earlier Lakshya had put up a heartfelt post. Sen summarized his journey at the Summer Games as an 'honor' and at the same time a 'heartbreak'.
"My journey at the Paris 2024 Olympics has been both an honor and a heartbreak. I gave my all, fought with every ounce of strength, but fell just short of the podium," wrote Lakshya, adding, "I am very grateful to all the supporters for their unwavering support."
In response, Victor replied with a heartwarming message for the young Indian shuttler. In his reply, he expressed that he felt Lakshya deserved to win a medal in Paris. The 30-year-old also motivated the 22-year-old to 'keep going'.
"Keep going brother. You can be really proud of yourself. Wish all semifinalsts could get a medal as you definitely deserve one. Congrats to you all on a fantastic performance at the Games," Axelsen said in his reply.
Viktor, who also clinched the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, had beaten Laksya 22-20, 21-14 in their men's singles semifinal match on August 4.
Lakshya Sen's 'so close yet so far' campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024
The way Lakshya Sen was performing at the Paris Olympics 2024 gave the entire country hopes of a podium finish. Lakshya had become the first Indian male shuttler to have made it to the semifinals of an Olympic Games. However, he could not convert it into a medal finish.
Lakshya defeated Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien Chen in three games in an enthralling quarter-final match to make it into the semis. However, he went down to Viktor Axelsen in the semis. Lakshya Sen then lost his bronze medal match to Malaysia's Zii Jia Lee despite taking the first game.