Paris Olympics: Sen becomes India's last hope for badminton glory in Paris

Lakshya Sen started on Thursday as part of a four-strong cohort of Indian shuttlers vying for an Olympic gold in Paris. By the time the sun set at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, he was the only one left.

Sen and HS Prannoy, his compatriot and Olympic village roommate, were pitted against each other in the round of 16. Their compatriots, men's doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had just lost their chance at a medal.

Sen, cementing his place as a rising star in Indian badminton, drummed up a decisive 12-21 6-21 win against Prannoy, who ranks nine spots above him in the world.

"Playing him on the biggest stage in the world was an emotional match, India playing against each other," Sen said. "But once I was there I was just in the zone."

"It's hard mentally because you're sharing a room and you keep training," Prannoy said. "It is emotionally tough to understand the whole situation."

"He came out with a lot of confidence and was playing a solid game ... I was nowhere near my best."

In cricket-crazy India, badminton has been making room for itself as an increasingly popular sport since former world number one Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal at the London Olympics. She was fast followed by PV Sindhu who won silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.

Later on Thursday, Sindhu lost her chance at a hat trick of Olympic medals when she was knocked out 19-21 14-21 by China's He Bingjiao.

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