The day began on a high note with Tharun Mannepalli securing a good victory followed by Lakshya Sen winning his match. Both men advanced to the singles semifinals of the Super 300 event. However, India’s joy was short lived as a shocking upset awaited. The dynamic duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a surprising quarterfinal loss to a lower-ranked Malaysian pair.
Men’s Singles
After upsetting top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu (WR 15) in the previous round, 23-year-old Tharun Mannepalli, ranked 47th in the world, once again showcased his impressive form on court. He defeated Junior World Champion and Asian Champion Hu Zhe An of China in a marathon 75-minute match, winning 21-12, 13-21, 21-18 to book his spot in the semifinals.
The opening game saw both players locked in a tight battle early on with the scores level at 9-9. But after that, Tharun shifted gears and completely dominated, racing away to take the game 21-12.
Hu responded in the second game with aggressive play and better control to win it 21-13 and force a decider.
The third game saw Tharun take an early lead, surging ahead 11-4. But Hu mounted a good comeback to reduce the deficit to 19-18. In the last few minutes,Tharun held his nerve to seal the game 21-18.
This victory secured Tharun his first semifinal appearance at a Super 300 tournament. Next, he will take on Malaysia’s Justin Hoh in the last four clash.
Later in the day, second seed Lakshya Sen edged past Zhu Xian Chen in a thrilling three-game encounter, winning 21-14, 18-21, 21-14 to book his spot in the semifinals.
Lakshya started strong, taking a six-point lead early and comfortably winning the first game 21-14. He looked set to wrap it up in straight games with another lead in the second game but the Chinese opponent fought back to level at 18-all and won the game 21-18. In the decider, Lakshya once again pulled ahead early with a six-point lead and sealed the match 21-14.
Lakshya has had a challenging year, often falling short in the early rounds. This victory marked a breakthrough, securing his first semifinal appearance of the 2025 season. His previous best performance this year was a quarterfinal finish at the prestigious All England Open.
Men’s Doubles
The disappointment for Indian badminton fans today came in the men’s doubles, where the second-seeded pair of Satwik-Chirag suffered a shock exit. In a thrilling and nerve-wracking contest, the former World No.1 pair went down 14-21, 21-13, 20-22 to the Malaysian pair of Mohammad Haikal and Hon Jian Choong.
Coming into the Macau Open as favourites to win the title, Satwik and Chirag’s early exit comes as a major upset and a missed opportunity to build momentum ahead of the World Championships in Paris.