Shuttler Lakshya Sen Beats World No 1 To Win India's First Men's Singles Gold In 53 Years

Sen thrashed Vitidsarn 21-19, 21-18 to end India’s 53-year wait to win gold in men’s singles event at Asian Junior Badminton Championship

16-year-old Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen entered his name into the records book as he won the gold medal in the men’s singles category by beating World No 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the finals of the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta on July 22.

In a match that lasted for about 46 minutes, Sen thrashed Vitidsarn 21-19, 21-18 to end India’s 53-year wait to win gold in men’s singles event at Asian Junior Championship. This victory was was Sen’s biggest-ever win. His previous best was bronze in the 2016 Asian Juniors.

With the win, Lakshya became only the third Indian after Gautam Thakkar (1965) and PV Sindhu (2012) to pocket a gold medal at the Asia Junior Championships.

Following Sen’s historic win, Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages with some calling him as ‘India’s New Golden Boy’. Here are a few reactions:

Here’s a list of shuttlers who have previously won a medal at the Asian Junior Championship:

1965 — Gautam Thakkar (gold)
2009 — Pranav Chopra and Prajkta Sawant (bronze)
2011 — Sameer Verma (silver)
2011 — PV Sindhu (bronze)
2012 — PV Sindhu (gold)
2012 — Sameer Verma (bronze)

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