India’s first men’s singles semifinalist at the Olympics has arrived, and his name is Lakshya Sen.

“This is something I’ve always dreamt of, and it feels really good to be here,” the 22-year-old said, after a high-paced battle against Chou Tien Chen in the quarterfinals.

“There’s a lot more work to do; the real tests start from here. It’s time to go back, recover and be ready for the next match.”

On his quest to become the first Indian men’s singles medallist will be Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, who stepped on the gas early against Loh Kean Yew and never let go.

The top half of the draw will feature world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn against Lee Zii Jia.

Vitidsarn dealt China one of the very few blows they have suffered this Olympics. Taking on Shi Yu Qi, the Thai delivered a textbook exhibition, disallowing the top seed any leeway to play his own game. In defence and control it was an outstanding display, with the Thai running away with the match at 11-1 in the second before the Chinese restored some respectability to the score.

Shi’s loss meant that China won’t have a men’s singles medallist for the first time in two decades.

The vanquished top seed, who had been in the form of his life in the run-up to the Olympics, doffed his hat to his opponent.

“My opponent played really well and I didn’t have many solutions for him throughout the game. I was trying to catch up and it was quite challenging.

“I made a lot of mistakes. Not only did the audience not expect that, I also didn’t expect it. I hardly played anything out on court.

“This Olympics was very important to me. I put a lot of effort and time into it. And I had some tough times. I wanted to play well and not being able to play well is really stinging,  but I have to accept it.”

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