Macau, Aug 1 (IANS) India endured mixed fortunes at the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament on Friday, with top doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashing out, while Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli brought cheer by advancing to the semifinals in the men’s singles category.
The World No. 3 duo of Satwik and Chirag, considered strong medal contenders, were stunned in the quarterfinals by the unseeded Malaysian pair Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Muhammad, going down 14-21, 17-21 in straight games. The Indian pair struggled to find their rhythm and failed to recover from early deficits in both games, exiting the tournament earlier than expected.
In contrast, Lakshya Sen, the second seed and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, showcased grit and resilience in a hard-fought 18-21, 21-14, 21-17 victory over China’s Xuan Chen Zhu. The match lasted just over an hour and saw Sen weather a spirited challenge from the world No. 77. After dropping the first game, Lakshya bounced back with aggressive net play and sharp smashes to level the contest.
In the deciding game, he surged to a 7-1 lead and, despite a brief fightback from Chen, kept his composure to seal the win. He will now face fifth seed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in the semifinals.
Joining him in the last four is 23-year-old Tharun Mannepalli, who continued his dream run with a thrilling 21-12, 13-21, 21-18 win over China’s Hu Zhe. Ranked 47th in the world, Mannepalli needed 75 minutes to get past the world No. 87 in what is his first-ever BWF Super 300 semi-final appearance.
The match saw dramatic swings in momentum, with the Indian dominating the first game before Hu bounced back strongly in the second. In the decider, Tharun raced to a 5-0 lead and held his nerve in a tense finish, sealing the match with a smart push to the backhand corner.
Earlier in the tournament, Mannepalli had stunned top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the round of 16.
–IANS
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