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After an early exit in the tournaments this year, including a quarter-final finish at the All England Open in March 2025, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen’s run in the Macau Open 2025 is appearing to signal his return to form. Indian fans have plenty to cheer about not only by Lakshya's performance but also by the impressive game of Tharun Mannepalli, who showcased his ability to contest against higher-ranked opponents. Both the players have kept India’s title hopes alive at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in the men’s singles event.
In his quarter-final bout, Lakshya Sen outshone China’s Xuan Chen Zhu to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Macau Open 2025. In what was a tough battle against the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Sen started strong but was seen getting dominated by his opponent. Sen regrouped in the deciding game and took the lead and sealed the victory 21-14. Lakshya will face Indonesia’s fifth seed, Alwi Farhan in the semi-finals match on Saturday, 2nd August. Joining him in the semi-final is 23-year-old Tharun Mannepalli, who defeated China’s Hu Zhe An, the reigning junior world champion.
In his quarter-final clash, he dominated the first game but his opponent won the second game equalling the match. But in the decider, he surged to 5-0 lead and eventually won the game 21-18. Mannepalli will be up against Justin Hoh of Malaysia in the penultimate stage of the tournament.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffer an exit in Macau Open 2025 quarter-finals
In the men’s doubles category, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced disappointment. The Indian duo reportedly known as 'Brothers of Destruction', suffered a surprising quarter-final loss to Malaysia’s unseeded pair, Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal. Despite leading 17-12 in the deciding game, Satwiksairaj and Chirag couldn’t hold on, losing 14-21, 21-13, 22-20 in a heartbreaking finish. This defeat marks their first loss to the Malaysian pair and adds to their string of semi-final exits in this year.
India’s campaign in the women’s events also came to an early end. Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj and the women’s doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra bowed out in the round of 16, while Unnati Hooda and HS Prannoy suffered early exits earlier in the tournament. With the women’s contingent out of the race, India’s title hopes now rest solely on Lakshya and Tharun in the men’s singles in the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.
