Nhat Nguyen's Paris Games is over after the Irishman fell to a 2-0 defeat to reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in their winner-takes-all Group P badminton clash on Wednesday morning.
Only one player from the four-man group progressed to the quarters, with Axelsen – the gold medallist in Tokyo three years ago – representing a massive final hurdle.
Nguyen had set up this showdown with a comfortable defeat of Nepal's Prince Dahal on Monday, having beaten Israel’s Misha Zilberman in his opener, but this was always going to be a significant step up.
Axelsen had beaten Nguyen 2-0 in both of their previous meetings, at the World Championships and the European Games. Ultimately, he proved too strong again, though 24-year-old Nguyen goes home from his second Games with plenty of positives.
He made a bright start, catching out the Dane with his intelligent net play and technical ability.
Axelsen’s renowned smash – ferociously powerful – was too hot to handle at times, and they were tied 6-6 after a tight start to the opening game.
Axelsen’s height and athleticism makes him an imposing figure, but Nguyen continued to play smart, taking an 11-9 lead into the midgame break thanks to a super crossfield finish.
Axelsen, fuelled by that overhead smash, roared back. He claimed the next five points of the game before a wide gave Nguyen a reprieve. It didn’t last long, as the favourite reasserted his dominance to race into a 19-13 lead.
Axelsen duly closed out the game 21-13, and Nguyen looked up against it.
He kept battling, pinching some good points in the second game, but Axelsen’s physicality ground him down. It was 11-5 at the interval as the Dane went for the kill, his telescopic limbs snuffing out Nguyen’s efforts to stretch the court.
The Irish fans in the crowd cheered every hard-fought Nguyen point, but Axelsen was just too strong.
A tired-looking Nguyen coughed up three errors to leave Axelsen on the brink, and he swiftly closed it out 21-10 to march into the last eight, looking in good shape to retain his gold medal.
The Irish player said he could not give any more and was proud of his display: "When I stepped out on court, I told myself to go all in. I had to give my best and I got a really, really good start.
"There's a big gap there for me I feel, but there's still four more years until LA. I'll give my all to catch up to that level."- Nhat Nguyen reflects on his defeat to reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen as his Paris Games came to an end #Paris2024 #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/oatnX1jfwK
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 31, 2024
"I don't think he was expecting my level or my speed at the start, and then I think once he got his rhythm going, it was very difficult for me to follow his speed and his smashes.
"I can learn a lot from that game. When I play at my very best, I can compete. I can score points. It’s just maintaining that for however long.
"I wanted to pressure him at the start and that was my best chance. It was disappointing I couldn't capitalise on the first step, but I gave my all out there. There's no regrets."
He has set his sights on Los Angeles in 2028 for his chance to overcome the very best.
"It's a dream to play against the Olympic champion at the Games. Maybe it's a dream to cause an upset. That was my belief when I walked on the court. I had to believe, and yeah, I got a really good start, but unfortunately, there's a lot to work on for sure.
"There's a big gap there for me, I feel, but there's still four more years into LA. I will give my all to catch up to that level.
"I definitely feel I've grown a lot. I went through a lot of ups and downs in the past two or three years. 2022 was quite a good year, but 2023 was quite a difficult year.
"In 2024, it's getting better now, but still, like I said, there's still a long gap between me and the best player in the world.
"I will take that on the chin, I will take it in my stride every single day and I will work towards that level because that's why you want to play at these high level and compete against the best and challenging the best and even try to beat the best."
Ireland's Rachael Darragh plays her second group match this afternoon against 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain.
On her Olympic debut, the Donegal woman lost in three games to Jenjira Stadelmann in her opening match.
