Macau Open 2025: Lakshya Sen, Tharun Mannepalli advance into semis; Satwik-Chirag bow out

India’s sole hope for a title at the Macau Open 2025 now rests on Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli.

India’s top men’s singles shuttlers, Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli, fought their way through their respective quarterfinal matches at the BWF Macau Open 2025, keeping the title hopes alive.

However, the world No. 9 men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, suffered a surprise exit, crashing out.

World No. 17 Lakshya Sen faced world No. 77 Xuan Chen Zhu of China in the quarter-finals at the Macao East Asian Games Dome.

The in-form Indian started strong, taking the first game 21-14, but suffered a setback in the second, losing 18-21. However, the Paris 2024 Olympic semi-finalist bounced back brilliantly, sealing the decider 21-14 to book his place in the BWF Super 300 event’s semi-finals and meet Alwi Farhan of Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Tharun Mannepalli also continued his dream run with victory over the reigning junior world champion Hu Zhe’an of China.

Also Read: BWF World Championships: Full list of title winners

Tharun clinched the opening game with ease, 21-12, but his Chinese opponent bounced back strongly in the second, taking it 21-13. In the decider, the Indian shuttler showcased his grit and talent, edging out a hard-fought 21-18 win to seal his spot in the semi-finals.

He will now face Justin Hoh of Malaysia, the same rival who knocked out Ayush Shetty in the round of 16.

The biggest shock of day 4 in Macau came with the exit of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. After a strong run in the tournament, the Indian pair crashed out in the quarter-finals, losing to Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal.

The Indian duo dropped the opening game 14-21, but reignited hopes in the second, winning it 21-18. Also, in a thrilling decider, they fought valiantly till the very end, but narrowly missed out, losing 20-22, and bowing out of the tournament. This marked the end of India’s doubles campaign in the tournament.

With only two Indian players left, both in the men’s singles, India now have a single shot at the title.

Fortunately, the semifinals won’t be an all-Indian clash, meaning there’s a possibility of an all-Indian final. If luck and form align, it will mark India’s first Macau Open title in men’s singles. Earlier, only PV Sindhu had clinched a title in this tournament back in 2014.

Such a win would provide a much-needed boost for India’s men’s singles contingent ahead of the upcoming BWF World Championships.

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