Lakshya Sen scripts history, becomes first Indian to reach Olympic men's semi-final

Lakshya Sen scripted history in the Paris Olympics after he became the first Indian man to reach the semi-final stage at the Olympics.

The 22-year-old shuttler defeated 12th seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in the Paris Olympics. Sen is just one win away from confirming a medal in his maiden Olympics appearance. 

He is the lone shuttler remaining in the fray at the Paris Games. 

Gold medal contenders Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the men's doubles quarter-final on Thursday while two-time medalist PV Sindhu exited in women's singles Round of 16.

Lakshya Sen put on a brilliant fight by overcoming a first-game defeat to beat Chou Tien Chen19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in an hour and 15 minutes.

It was neck-and-neck until 7-7 before Chou pulled away and took a 11-10 lead in the opening game.

Chou, who is 10 years older than Lakshya, surprised the Indian shuttler with a tough fight. 

Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar, who were on the coaching bench for India, boosted Lakshya and asked him to calm down. Lakshya went on with dedication and pulled away after the mid-game interval, winning the second game 15-21 in 17 minutes.