Prakash Padukone
Paris Olympics 2024: India could not win a single medal in badminton in Paris Olympics 2024. India’s Lakshya Sen finished fourth in men’s singles. At one time he was a big contender to win the gold medal. He had to face defeat against Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match. At the same time, PV Sindhu had to face defeat in the pre-quarterfinals. The pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty did not advance beyond the quarterfinals.
Prakash Padukone said this
On Lakshya Sen not winning a medal, Prakash Padukone said that he played well, but I am disappointed. He lost points at crucial moments. He needs to work on some areas. I am disappointed with Lakshya’s defeat despite taking the lead. Not a single medal came from badminton. We were contenders for a medal in badminton. Many of our key players lost the match. They could not handle the pressure well. In our last Olympics also, most of the medals came from those players from whom we had no expectations. Because then they played without any pressure and won medals. We also have foreign coaches, foreign trainers.
Padukone spoke about handling the pressure
Prakash Padukone said that after Milkha Singh in 1964 and PT Usha in the 80s, we have seen many players finish fourth. I think now the time has come that players will have to take their responsibility. At least for the results of this Olympics and the previous Olympics, you cannot blame the federation and the government, they did whatever they could. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the players to perform well when it is needed the most. Olympics is all about how a player handles pressure.
If you need something and it is given to you, then there should be accountability for it. Players need to introspect whether they are working hard enough. Because all these players have their own physios and all the facilities.
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