Two back-to-back semifinal finishes, at the French Open and then at the All England Open have ensured that India shuttler Lakshya Sen is well on his way to secure his Paris 2024 berth. The 2021 World Championships bronze medalist, Lakshya has found his mojo back finally, when it mattered the most, and has shown the world, where he actually belongs.
Lakshya Sen Inching Closer to Paris Qualification
At the last week’s All England Open, the Indian went on to beat World No.3 Anders Antonsen, before removing Lee Zii Jia from the competition. That spoke volumes the kind of form the youngster was in. As of now, as per the latest Olympic Qualification Rankings, he is 12th on the list, where only top 16 shuttlers can make the cut. The cut off date is April 28.
Meanwhile, HS Prannoy will be the other men’s singles player from the country, who’ll participate at the Paris Olympics, having sealed his berth already. As far as the women’s singles is concerned, PV Sindhu is the lone player in contention from India, to make it to Paris 2024. She is on the 13th spot, and would look to improve on her Olympic qualification ranking at the Swiss Open.
There’s a lot at stake in the women’s doubles, as two Indian pairs can make the cut, provided they get favourable results in the upcoming tournaments. Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnapaa seem to be making the cut, and are at the 20th position as of now. Despite a low ranking, they will most likely go through, since China has five teams in that top 20, where only two from a nation can go through.
That also puts Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly in contention, who are at the 26th spot, but need to deliver a stupendous performance to make the cut, but it’s still well within their reach. Lastly, the World No.1 men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are already through, and just need to keep doing at the Olympics, what they’ve doing for the last two years, and are in the running for a medal in Paris.
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