Lakshya, Tharun reach Macau Open quarters; Dhruv-Tanisha crash out

Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli kicked off India’s campaign in style at the Macau Open by booking their places in the men’s singles quarterfinals of the BWF World Tour Super 300 event.

Seeded second, Lakshya Sen was made to work hard by Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in a tightly-contested Round of 16 battle. Displaying his trademark resilience and tactical acumen, the 23-year-old Indian, who finished a heartbreaking fourth at the 2025 Paris Olympics, clinched a 21-14, 14-21, 21-17 victory in 67 minutes.

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The win takes Lakshya into the last eight, where he will face either Yohanes Saut Marcellyno (Indonesia) or Zhu Xuan Chen (China) for a spot in the semifinals.

Joining him in the quarterfinals is World No. 47 Tharun Mannepalli, who pulled off the biggest upset of the day by defeating top seed and World No. 15 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong.

After dropping the first game 19-21, Tharun rallied brilliantly to take the next two games 21-14, 22-20, sealing the match in just over an hour. The 23-year-old has now made his second Super 300 quarterfinal of the season, following his impressive run at the German Open earlier this year. He will next meet China’s Hu Zhe An.

However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Indian contingent as Ayush Shetty, seeded seventh, crashed out after a straight-game defeat to Malaysia’s Justin Hoh, losing 21-18, 21-16 in a match where he never quite found his rhythm.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, seeded fifth, were edged out in a close three-game contest against Malaysia’s Jimmy Wong and Lai Pei Jing, despite taking the opening game.

In women’s singles, Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj impressed with her fighting spirit but fell short against Thailand’s second seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in three games.

Later in the day, India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded second, are scheduled to face Japan’s Kakeru Kumagai and Hiroki Nishi. In women’s doubles, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will be up against Indonesia’s eighth seeds Meilysa Puspitasari and Rachel Rose.