Bengaluru: Lakshya Sen has flipped a few scripts in Paris so far. He has gone up against players he usually struggles against and managed to frustrate them with his aggression, tireless retrieves, and limbs that won’t quit.

The 22-year-old finds himself in an Olympic semi-final. A historic first for an Indian male badminton player. When he was still learning to grip a racket, the Almora boy was intrigued by both Encarta’s ability to answer questions in a jiff and Rudy Hartano’s feat of eight All England titles. He declared he’d do one better than the Indonesian great. At 20, he made an All England final, the first Indian man to do so in 21 years. At the other end was Viktor Axelsen. It was a challenge too mighty.

It’s been two years since. Lakshya is wiser, sharper, fitter and finds himself in a defining match of his young career in Paris. Yet again, it’s going to be the defending Olympic champion on the other side.

Lakshya has shown spades of gumption to get here. He topped a group that had Jonatan Christie, who he hadn’t beaten in their four previous encounters. And then took apart a wily Chou Tien Chen (who he trailed 1-3 in the head-to-head) in three games in what was some of the best badminton we’ve seen by an Indian player in recent times. Supreme fitness aside, Lakshya has shown great temperament – not being bogged by past match-ups or a trailing scoreline. He hung in, stayed calm and unruffled through sapping rallies, ‘bad’ sides of the court, and made 2-8 deficits disappear with his accelerated pace, swivelling torso, picking up every shuttle that came his way.

When Chen slapped a return into the net to bring up a historic win for Lakshya, the Indian politely shook his opponent’s hand at the tape and walked off the court with little celebration. A lot of work still left, he would offer in the post-match interview, a Phil Foden-esque ‘Sky is the limit’ tattoo running behind his left ear.

The mentors in his corner – Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar – are perhaps living the Olympic dream through the player they’ve nurtured for over a decade. Padukone, a former All England champion, had never been to the Olympics before this. Badminton was only introduced in 1992, after he called time on his career. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, training under Padukone for less than a year, couldn’t go past the last 16 this time. Vimal Kumar played in the 1992 Olympics but his Rio 2016 outing with former pupil Saina Nehwal turned out to be brief and anti-climactic. The 2012 bronze medallist had a disastrous group stage exit due to a major injury sustained before the Games.

Courtside during Lakshya’s matches, Padukone is usually the less animated guy. It’s Vimal who’s often visibly wrought with emotions, slapping his thighs, yelling instructions.

Lakhya will need it all and then some in the semi-finals against Axelsen, 30, at Port de la Chapelle on Sunday. The Dane is yet to drop a game in this Paris Olympics. He dismantled former world champion Loh Kean Yew in straight games in the quarters. He might relish the prospect of pinning Lakshya to the backline and deny him crafty play at the net. But he can be hassled by endless retrieval and Lakshya will have to shut out the world No.2’s attack right at the outset.

In their eight encounters so far, Lakshya’s only win came in the 2022 German Open semi-finals. “Generally beating Viktor in the first few rounds has been more manageable in the past,” Lakshya told HT earlier. “He usually comes into semi-finals super fresh since he would have short matches the day before. But you’d be tired after some three-game madness. Par abhi (now though) it’s not easy for him to always physically maintain the pace at his age. It used to be a bit difficult to beat him in semi-finals and finals, but now I think things have changed.”

Read Also: PCB holds discussion with Kirsten, Gillespie over potential 'disciplinary action' on Pakistan stars, advised otherwise