India's Lakshya Sen won a straight-game victory over HS Prannoy to become the third male player from India to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics badminton competition on Thursday.
The 22-year-old from Almora in Uttar Pradesh, a Commonwealth Games champion and a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, secured a 21-12 21-6 win over world No. 13 Prannoy in a 39-minute pre-quarter-final match.
Sen follows Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the quarter-finals in the London and Rio Olympics in 2012 and 2016, respectively.
Currently ranked 22, Sen will face 12th seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals.
"I think having tough matches gives you confidence. I am now ready to go deep into the tournament. It will be a tricky match against Chou, I have to go and recover well and give my 100 per cent," Sen said after the match.
Sen maintained steady defence and mixed his attack well. Prannoy, who played a three-game match the previous evening, looked tired and offered little resistance in the 39-minute contest.
This match marked the end of Prannoy's campaign, who had recovered from a bout of Chikungunya to compete in his first Olympics.
Sen started strong, leading 7-4, and maintained control as Prannoy struggled. Sen comfortably closed out the opening game.
In the second game, Sen quickly wrapped up the contest after leading throughout.
(With inputs from PTI)
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