Viktor Axelsen predicts GOLD for Lakshya Sen in next Olympics: ‘Very strong competitor…’

After Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen lost his semifinal match at the Paris Olympics 2024, reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen predicted a gold medal for Sen in the next Olympics scheduled in Los Angeles in 2028.

“Definitely (the toughest match for me in Paris so far). Lakshya started so well, but I was able to relax in the 2nd game. Lakshya is an amazing player,” Axelsen told Jio Cinema.

“He has shown in this Olympics that he is a very, very strong competitor and I am sure in four years from now, he will be one of the favourites to win the gold. An amazing talent and a great guy and I wish him all the best,” he said.

“I think the experience made a difference today. I think Lakshya, he played better than I did in big parts of the game. So he could have won the match,” Viktor, who defeated Lakshya, added.

Sen and Axelsen have played each other nine times, with Axelsen winning eight. Sen's only victory came at the 2022 German Open semi-finals, where he won 21-13, 12-21, 22-20.

Sen recently made history as the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semifinals. He is the only Indian shuttler still running for a medal at the Paris Olympics, following the elimination of other top players such as Satwik-Chirag and PV Sindhu.

India has never won an Olympic gold medal in badminton. PV Sindhu won silver and bronze at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, respectively, while Saina Nehwal earned a bronze at the London Games.

Several Indian athletes saw their Olympic hopes dashed last week — including Tokyo edition bronze-winner Lovlina Borgohain who bowed out after a hard-fought quarterfinal loss to Li Qian from China.

Fellow boxer Nishant Dev saw his maiden Olympic campaign end on a heartbreaking note following a split verdict defeat to Mexican athlete Marco Verde Alvarez during the quarterfinals on Saturday night.