Badminton at Paris 2024

1. People's Republic of China - 5 Medals (2 Gold, 3 Silver, 0 Bronze)

2. Republic of Korea - 2 Medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)

3. Denmark - 1 Medal (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)

4. Chinese Taipei - 1 Medal (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)

5. Thailand - 1 Medal (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)

6. Japan - 2 Medals (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)

7. Malaysia - 2 Medals (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)

8. Indonesia - 1 Medal (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Bronze)

This will feel like a medal thrown away. Sen went a game up in spectacular fashion before taking an 8-3 lead in the second. That is when every Indian fan should have turned off their TV, laptops, phones and what not. Jia won nine points in a row after that and it was done and dusted. The third was a mere formality as it followed the same trend as Jia just ran away with it and seemed to grow as the game progressed. 

India will end up without a badminton Olympics medal for the first time since London 2012.

AND THAT IS IT!!! BODY SMASH WINNER!!!

SEN CLEARS LONG!!! HE HAS THE REVIEW THIS!!! HE DOES!!! 

MY GOD!! THE MARGINS!!! WE REALLY HAD TO ZOOM IN THERE!

BRINZE MEDAL POINTS!

He comes up with a down the line smash. NEEDS MANY MORE LIKE THOSE

NOW IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS DONE!! SEN LOOKS EXHAUSTED!! 

OH MY!!! This feels like it might be a step too far now.

Jia ups the tempo and as soon as he has the chance finishes it off with a cross court smash. 

SEN IS NOT GOING TO LET JIA WALK OVER HIM!!! TWO IN A ROW FOR THE INDIAN!

WOW WOW WOW!!! 

WHAT A RALLY! Sen Dives to keep the shuttle in play. Jia jumps forward to pick it and turns it into a perfect hairpin. Sen's return has too much air under it and Jia finishes it off

SEN HAS A POINT BACK!! 

THIS IS NOT OVER BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION!

Sen misjudges another drive. He goes for it late but cannot get it over the net. 

WIDE THIS TIME!!! 

SEVEN POINT GAME!

THIS IS THE PROBLEM!! SEN HITS IT LONG!! HE NEEDS TO FIND HIS RANGE FROM THIS SIDE FAST!

Jia gets the first point but Sen wins one at the net.

BUT IT IS JIA WHO HEADS INTO THE BREAK WITH A FIVE POINT LEAD!

Ooohhhh!! Sen goes for the down the line smash. It looked very close but was called out. SEN CHALLENGES THE CALL!!

IT IS IN!!! 

He has removed the sweatband and just re-bandaged the wound. 

Another break in play. There doesnt seem to be anything on the bandanage. It looked like Sen has been asked to put a sweatband on it.

Will this impact movement? I may but not the end of the world. 

This time it is the Indian who shows off his defensive abilities. However, his last shot, which looked like one hit by an exhausted man, goes wide. 

AND AGAIN!!! JIA SEEMS TO BE TIRING HERE!!! 

Sen is expending too much energy for each point though.

SEN GETS ANOTHER ONE!!! JIA'S DOWN THE LINE SMASH IS INTO THE NET!!! 

THE INDIAN NEEDS A STREAK HERE!!

YES YES YES!!! COME ON!!

CROSS COURT DROP!!! JIA DIVES IN!!! DOES NOT GET THERE!

AGAIN MISJUDGEMENT BY SEN!! 

HE PICKS IT AT THE LAST MOMENT BUT ALLOWS JIA A SMASH IN MIDCOURT!!! 

WOW!!! 

Jia has turned into prime Lin Dan here. There is nothing that he is not picking. At least four of those shots should have yielded points.

FIVE POINT GAME!!! 

Sen needs some points and quick. He has to play in the faster court after the break

Sen tries to attack teh Malaysian at the net but Jia is able to use his quick hands to keep it in play. 

Sen tries to clear it and clears it long. 

AND WE ARE BACK!!

Sen needs medical attention again. He is okay to continue. It is just a precaution to not show any blood. 

Jia is not letting up here. He is attacking the injured right side of the Indian.  

Jia tries to go for the inside out smash but it is not even close. That might have been out even in doubles. 

Jia hits one long but Sen's down the line smash is wide. 

Jia seems to have decided to go for the duece court smash. And he has his second point there. 

That is intent from Jia. Huge cross court smash for the winner. 

Sen is being asked to add more padding so that there is no blood showing. 

There seems to be a huge difference is speeds on both sides. Sen will be at a diadvantage in the second part of the final game. The best thing to do here is to get a decent lead going into the court change. 

WE ARE ALL TIED UP!!! 

Jia's inside out smash is good enough for the point and the game. 

HE DOES NOT GET IT!! 

GAME POINTS JIA!!

Sen seems to have bruised himself while trying to retrieve the last smash. OOOOHHHH! That is a bad bruise. He needs medical attention here. 

And it is on his right arm. Hopefully it numbs up quickly. 

The court needs a wipedown and the players need to catch their breaths. 

JIA WITH THE SMASH WINNER!! 

BIG BIG OINT COMING UP NOW!! SEN NEEDS THIS ONE!

GREAT PLAY THIS TIME!! 

He pushes the shuttle deep into the backhand before finishing it in the duece court. 

That was just plain bad by the Indian. You cannot allow that easy a finish at the net in a medal game. 

SEN GETS ONE BACK!!! 

Jia almost picked up a smash while lying on the ground. BUT IT IS THE INDIAN WHO HAS THE POINT!

This time his drop at the net is wide. Sen is struugling for ideas here. Too many unforced errors. 

NO NO NO NO!!! 

Sen serves long. He reviews the call. This needs to be in. IT IS WELL LONG!!

SEN IS OUT OF CHALLENGES!

Sen picks up a monster body smash. He wins the point as Jia is unable to do the same a couple of shots later.

OH NO!! Sen hits his clear long. It was quite close. 

SEN RETURNS THE FAVOUR!! DOWN THE LINE FOR THE WINNER!! BRILLIANT GAME!! 

ONE POINT BETWEEN THEM

That was too good by the Malaysian. He pushes the Indian wide before finishing with two back to back smashes. 

Jia retakes the lead with tempo. It was at a terrible height for Sen to do anything. 

LEVEL!! AND WHAT A WAY TO DO IT!!! 

A HUGE DOWN THE LINE SMASH!! JIA WAS NOWHERE CLOSE TO IT!!

ONE POINT GAME!! 

Jia hits his cross court drive wide. 

MORE OF THAT PLEASE!!! 

SEN ATTACKS EARLY AND WITH PRECISION!! BODY SMASH FOR THE WIN!

Sen lets the shuttle drop. It is caled out. Jia reviews the call. 

THANKFULLY IT IS LONG!!!

FROM 3-8 DOWN, JIA NOW LEADS 12-8

Sen needs to figure this out quickly. 

OH MY!!! SEN HEADS INTO THE BREAK WITH A THREE POINT DEFICIT!!

INSIDE OUT SMASH BY JIA THIS TIME!! Sen returns it but it is an easy finish for the Malaysian at the net. 

HE NOW TRAILS !!! SEN RETURNS THE SERVCE ON THE ANGLE!! IT GOES WIDE

This time it is Sen who misjudges a clear. 

LEVEL

HE DOES NOT!! HIS ATTEMPTED SMASH IS INTO THE NET

TWO POINT GAME NOW!! SEN NEEDS TO STOP THIS SLIDE

This time Sen hits it long!! jia is living and dying by the tempo rallies now. 

Jia speeds up the rally and Sen this time cannot live with the pace. He clears it wide. 

Jia has a point back but hits his next one long. 

Sen now gets luck at the net. A quick exchange ends with Sen hitting the top of the tape and it falls over. 

FOUR POINT LEAD NOW!!

GREAT INSTINCT BY THE INDIAN!!! 

He waits for his chance on the hairpin. As soon as he sees it, he attacks the net and ends it. 

LEAD BT TWO NOW!! HIS CROSS COURT HALF SMASH IS WELL IN!! JIA IS ON THE MAT AND TRYING TO CATCH HIS BREATH!

BRILLIANT BODY SMASH BY THE INDIAN!!! he was backpeddling when he hit that. 

LEVEL!!! SEN HITS HIS SHOT WIDE. 

Jia's clear is called long. He reviews it and it is LONG!

Sen is playing the faster side now. He hits one long. This is where Jia crumbled last time. Can Sen make a quicker adjustment. 

WHAT A RALLY!!! 

That is badminton at its finest. Great shots. Great defence. And ending with great judgement by Sen.

AND WE ARE BACK!!!

One more game and India have their fourth bronze of the Olympics. 

JIA HITS IT LONG AND SEN HAS TAKEN THE FIRST GAME!! 

That went exactly as he would have dreamt it last night. 

GAME POINTS!!! SEVEN OF THEM!!

A big inside out smash by the Malaysian. He still trails by six. 

GREAT BODY SMASH BY THE INDIAN!!! 

TWO POINTS AWAY NOW!! 

SEN AGAIN SHOWS FAST HANDS AT THE NET WITH A PUSH DOWN THE LINE!! IT IS CALLED IN!! 

JIA REVIEWS IT!! 

IT IS IN!!! THREE POINTS FROM THE FIRST GAME NOW.

Great deception by Jia this time. He leaves Sen on the mat before finishing the rally off. To Sen's credit, he almost got back up and to the shuttle as well. 

SEN DOES EXACTLY THE SAME ON THE NEXT ONE!! DOWN THE LINE SMASH... WINNER AT THE NET

Jia finally attacking now. His smash is returned but his net shot earns him the point. 

WOW!!! THE FAST HANDS JIA FINDS HIS MATCH IN A FASTER HANDS SEN!

Jia finds the cross court smash this time. He is finally into double digits. 

Error at the net by Jia again. Sen ahead by six now. 

BUT SEN IS BACK!!! INSIDE OUT SMASH LEADS TO A CROSS COURT WINNER ONCE JIA RETURNS IT!

SECOND TIME IN A ROW!!! This rally was just clears and drives and Sen loses patience. It appears Jia has finally found his range. 

This time it is Sen who misjudges a clear. He has not challenged it. 

This time Jia finds the inside out smash. That looked too easy to be honest. 

Jia again shows great defensive play but it is not sustainable as one of them goe sunreturned. 

SERVICE ERROR BY JIA!! MORE OF THAT PLEASE

Jia is uncertain of  his position so far. He wins the point though as Sen touches the net with his racquet. 

SEN UNLEASHES A HOST OF SMASHES THAT JIA RETURNS... EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! 

In the end, he lets a drive go by and it catches the line. 

Sen leads by SIX at the break

Sen tries to go for the inside out drop. It goes into the net. STILL A FIVE POINT GAME!

WHAT A PICK!!! 

Jia unleashes a huge down the line smash that Sen somehow keeps in. The Malaysian tries to be too cute at the net and concedes the point. 

AND AGAIN!! THIS TIME HE PUSHES IT LONG FROM THE NET!! He has not figured out the drift yet. 

Misjudgement by the Malaysian this time.