Lakshya Sen Shines at Macau Open, Advances to Quarterfinals
Lakshya Sen's Impressive Performance
Macau [China], July 31: Lakshya Sen, a semifinalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has successfully reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles event at the ongoing Macau Open badminton tournament. Alongside him, the well-known men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also progressed to the final 16 on Thursday.
Thrilling Matches and Upsets
In a challenging match against Indonesia's world number 48, Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, Lakshya triumphed after an intense hour and seven minutes, with scores of 21-14, 14-21, 21-17, according to Olympics.com.
In another surprising turn, Indian player Tharun Mannepalli achieved a remarkable victory over top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong, winning in a nail-biting contest with scores of 19-21, 21-14, 22-20.
Mixed Results for Other Competitors
Seventh-seeded Ayush Shetty, who recently claimed victory at the US Open, faced an early exit in the pre-quarters, losing to Malaysia's Justin Hoh with scores of 21-18, 21-16.
In men's doubles, the world number nine duo of Satwik and Chirag staged a comeback after losing the first game against Japan's Kakeru Kumagai and Hiroki Nishi. They saved a match point in the second game and ultimately won the match with scores of 10-21, 22-20, 21-16.
However, the other men's doubles pair, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K, were eliminated after a close match, losing 21-18, 21-18 to Malaysia's fourth seeds Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King.
Women's Singles and Doubles Results
In the women's singles, India's campaign concluded as Rakshitha Ramraj lost to Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a competitive match, with scores of 14-21, 21-10, 21-11.
Additionally, the women's doubles team of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra exited the tournament after a defeat to Indonesia's Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari and Rachel Allessya Rose, with scores of 21-14, 21-12.
Mixed Doubles Challenges
In the mixed doubles category, the fifth-seeded pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto faced a tough match against Malaysia's Jimmy Wong and two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Lai Pei Jing, ultimately losing 19-21, 21-13, 21-18 in their pre-quarterfinals.