Daijiworld Media Network- Macau
Macau, Jul 31: Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Tharun Mannepalli made a strong start at the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament, securing second-round berths in the men’s singles category with dominant performances on Wednesday.
Lakshya Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, displayed clinical form as he cruised past Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-8, 21-14. World No. 31 Ayush Shetty eased into the next round with a 21-10, 21-11 win over Huang Yu Kai of Chinese Taipei, while Tharun Mannepalli got the better of compatriot Manraj Singh 21-19, 21-13.
Lakshya is set to face Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the next round, while Ayush will take on Malaysia’s Justin Hoh. Tharun will have a tough challenge ahead as he faces top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong.
In the women’s singles category, Rakshitha Ramraj emerged as the lone Indian to enter the second round after a gritty 63-minute battle against Pornpicha Choeikeewong of Thailand, winning 18-21, 21-17, 22-20.
In mixed doubles, the fifth-seeded Indian pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto registered a convincing 21-10, 21-15 victory over Thailand’s Ratchapol Makkasasithorn and Nattamon Laisuan in just 26 minutes.
In an all-Indian men's doubles encounter, P Krishnamurthy Roy and S Pratheek K overcame D Konthoujam and Amaan Mohammad 21-18, 21-19 to secure a second-round spot.
However, there were major setbacks for India as HS Prannoy suffered a shocking exit in the opening round, losing to Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno 21-18, 15-21, 15-21.
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran also bowed out, falling to Malaysia’s Justin Hoh 19-21, 12-21, while Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar was outplayed by Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 16-21, 8-21.
Young sensation Unnati Hooda, who had stunned PV Sindhu at the China Open last week, put up a valiant effort before going down 21-16, 19-21, 17-21 against Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark.
Meanwhile, Anupama Upadhyaya, Sankar Subramanian, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Kiran George also failed to clear their opening rounds.
Anmol Kharb impressed with her resilience but eventually lost 21-23, 11-21 to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, while Tasnim Mir, former junior world No. 1, was no match for Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei, losing 6-21, 14-21 in just 27 minutes.
In mixed doubles, the Indian challenge fizzled out as Thandrangini Hema Nagendra Babu/Priya Konjengbam, Ayush Agarwal/Shruti Mishra, and Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde all faced first-round exits.
Despite a mixed day for India, the impressive showings by Lakshya, Ayush, Tharun, and Rakshitha provided a silver lining as the tournament moves into its crucial second round.