Paris Olympics 2024: Indian shuttlers start on winning note!

India’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right) and Chirag Shetty. Pics/Getty Images

Ace India shuttler Lakshya Sen got his maiden Olympic campaign underway in style, beating Tokyo Games semi-finalist Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in straight games in a men's singles group match here on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Sen won 21-8, 22-20 against reigning Pan American champion Cordon in the contest that lasted 42 minutes.

Also Read: Samoa boxing coach dies at Olympic village

India's Lakshya Sen returns to Kevin Gordon on Day One in Paris on Saturday

Meanwhile, The third-seeded duo of Satwik-Chirag, the reigning Asian Games champions, notched up a 21-17 21-14 win against the French pair of Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar in a Group C match.

Satwik and Chirag will face Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel of Germany in their second match on Monday. The French pair gave a tough fight to the Indians in the first game but Satwik and Chirag imposed themselves on their opponents in the second game, winning most of the rallies in the match that lasted 45 minutes.

Sen, a gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and bronze winner at 2021 World Championships, will face Julien Carraggi of Belgium in his second group match on Monday.

Despite Cordon's good comeback in the second game, Sen held his nerves and emerged the winner to begin his campaign on a resounding note.

Sen pocketed the first game in just 14 minutes. Cordon fought back in the second game and was 6-2 ahead after a fine net play. The Indian closed the gap at 6-8 after a nice smash.

But Sen was more error-prone in the second game than in the first, and trailed 7-12 at the change of ends. The Guatemalan kept himself ahead, winning more rallies than Sen. At 20-16, he was just one point away from taking the match to the deciding game.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever