'I want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years': Lakshya Sen
When Lakshya was shown the memes, drawing similarities between his insane return and Kohli's six, the Indian shuttler said he wouldn't mind the comparison.
Leading 19-18 in the first game of a must-win encounter against one of the medal favourites, Jonatan Christie, India's Lakshya Sen pulled a rabbit out of his hast. In the rally dominated by the World No.4, Lakshya's only aim was to somehow get the shuttle across and in the process, he managed to give the most viral moment by an Indian athlete at the Paris Olympics 2024.
The shuttle had beaten the Indian, but Lakshya used his hands to reach it and make a good enough connection from that position to win the rally and eventually take a 1-0 lead in the do-or-die encounter. The jaw-dropping shot became an instant hit on social media. So much so that there were memes comparing it to Indian cricketer Virat Kohli's six over long-on off Haris Rauff in the 19th over of a T20 World Cup 2022 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
It was an insane shot from Kohli. India needed 28 runs off 8 balls when Kohli stood tall and somehow hit a back-of-a-length delivery from Rauf straight back over him for a six. It was unbelievable. So was Lakshya's behind-the-back flick shot.
During a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia, when Lakshya was shown the memes, drawing similarities between his insane return and Kohli's six, the Indian shuttler said he wouldn't mind the comparison as aspires to do in badminton what Kohli has done for India in cricket.
"Why not!" said Lakshya when he was asked if he would accept the comparison with Virat Kohli. "I mean, at the same time he (Kohli) has done a lot for Indian cricket and yes, I want to be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in the coming years," he said.
Doing a deep-dive on that unbelievable shot, Lakshya Sen, he played that shot a few times in practice but never tried it in match-situation because there was no guarantee whether it would come off.
"I was just looking to retrieve, thinking I will play an attacking shot when I get a chance. I played that shot with the same mindset. Because at 19-18, I didn't want to let the shuttle go. I saw the shuttle going behind my head so the only way I could reach it was like that," he added.
Lakshya beat Christie and then got the better of Chou Tien-Chen in the quarterfinals to become the first Indian to advance to the semi-final of the badminton men's singles event at the Games.
Unfortunately, Lakshya lost to defending champion Viktor Axelsen despite keeping a healthy lead in both games of the semi-final. In the bronze medal match, the Indian lost to Malaysia's Lee Zia Jia.