India’s challenge at the Macau Open 2025 came to an end, with Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli losing in the men’s singles semi-finals. It was the first last-four appearance of the year for both players.
Lakshya loses to Indonesian youngster
Second seed Lakshya Sen faced a tough opponent in Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist has been struggling of late due to form and fitness, and couldn’t match the pace and precision of the young Indonesian, losing 16-21,9-21.
In the opening game, Lakshya got off to a quick 3-0 start but couldn’t sustain it. Farhan soon took control and went into the mid-game interval with an 11-7 lead. Although both players exchanged points after that, the Indonesian held on to his advantage and closed out the game.
The second game was one-sided. From 4-4, Farhan upped his game and completely dominated proceedings. The world No. 17 struggled to keep up as the young Indonesian raced ahead and sealed the game.
Tharun’s Dream Run Concludes
Tharun saw his impressive run come to an end in a hard-fought battle against Malaysia’s Justin Hoh. The Indian lost 21-19, 16-21,16-21.
The 23-year-old Indian had been the surprise package of the tournament after upsetting top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu and reigning junior world champion Hu Zhe’an in the previous rounds.
Thraun started well, racing to 13-6 lead, but after that he made multiple errors that helped the Malaysian the equal the game at 18-18. Tharun somehow held his nerve and took the first game. However, the second game saw Justin capitalise on the Indian’s errors. The decider saw both players vying for control but Justin ultimately gained the upper hand.
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