BENGALURU: After Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen’s successful Commonwealth Games 2022 campaign, which saw him capture two medals, the rising Indian badminton star received a warm welcome from fans at Kempegowda International airport.
Lakshya Sen clinched the country’s second badminton gold, defeating Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong in the final of the men’s singles category. Sen staged a comeback to win a thrilling match 19-21, 21-9 and 21-16. He was also the part of Indian mixed team which won the silver medal. India lost to Malaysia by 1-3 in the final.
Sen received an overwhelming welcome from his loved ones and fans at the airport. The sounds of cheers and dhols were ringing through the airport. The shuttler wasted no time and shook a leg with his fans and loved wins in celebration of his successful first major competition. He also got some pictures clicked with his fans.
Sen expressed happiness about the welcome he received at the airport to ANI. “There was a lot of pressure this time because of the past results as well. I knew that it was not going to be easy. But I had the belief that I could go all the way from the beginning. So, I made it. I am used to these types of welcomes now. Would like to thank everyone who came,” he added.
The Indian contingent had a great outing in Badminton, in which it won six medals in total, consisting of three golds, one silver and two bronze medals. P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won the gold medal in the men’s and women’s singles categories, Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy won gold in the men’s doubles category. Indian mixed badminton team won a silver medal. Kidambi Srikanth and Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand won bronze medals in men’s singles and women’s doubles categories.
From July 28 to August 8, nearly 200 Indian athletes competed for medals across 16 different sports at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. India wrapped up its Commonwealth Games 2022 campaign at fourth position with 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze). Wrestling topped the medal chart with 12 medals including six gold while weightlifting accounted for 10 medals.
India has delivered its fifth-best performance of all time in their Commonwealth Games history, with their best being a total of 101 medals when the games were held at home in 2010.
The Commonwealth Games 2022 came to an end with a stunning closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Monday. The Commonwealth Games flag was presented to the Governor of Victoria. The state of Victoria, Australia, will be the next host of the Commonwealth Games in 2026. (ANI)