Indian Shuttlers Advance at Macau Open; Prannoy Exits Early

Macau, Jul 30 (PTI) Indian shuttlers showcased impressive performances at the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament, with Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Tharun Mannepalli advancing to the second round in the men's singles category. Lakshya Sen, the Commonwealth Games champion, delivered a commanding victory over Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin with a score of 21-8, 21-14. World No. 31, Ayush Shetty, also earned a comfortable win against Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu Kai, finishing at 21-10, 21-11. Tharun Mannepalli secured his place in the next round by defeating fellow Indian Manraj Singh 21-19, 21-13.

For the upcoming matches, Lakshya is set to compete against the winner of the match between Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar, while Ayush will face Malaysia's Justin Hoh. Tharun's next challenge will be against the top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong.

In mixed doubles action, the fifth-seeded duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, ranked 18th globally, easily dispatched Thailand's Ratchapol Makkasasithorn and Nattamon Laisuan 21-10, 21-15 in a swift 26-minute match.

An all-Indian men's doubles clash saw P Krishnamurthy Roy and S Pratheek K triumph over D Konthoujam and Amaan Mohammad with a scoreline of 21-18, 21-19, securing their spot in the second round.

However, it was a disappointing day for HS Prannoy, who exited early after a 21-18, 15-21, 15-21 loss to Indonesia's Yohanes Saut Marcellyno in the men's singles opening round.

Sathish Kumar Karunakaran also faced defeat against Malaysia’s Justin Hoh, losing 19-21, 12-21 in their 37-minute pre-quarterfinal clash.

In women's singles, Unnati Hooda, who recently pulled off a stunning upset over two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu at the China Open, fought valiantly but was narrowly defeated by Denmark’s Julie Dawall Jakobsen 21-16, 19-21, 17-21 in an intense 59-minute game.

Anupama Upadhyaya also faced a challenging match against Japan’s Riko Gunji, losing 16-21, 10-21.

Sankar Subramanian and Aakarshi Kashyap experienced first-round exits, falling to China’s Hu Zhe An 18-21, 14-21, and Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 14-21, 16-21 in men’s and women's singles, respectively.

Kiran George could not overcome Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus, resulting in a 15-21, 10-21 defeat after 31 minutes.

Meanwhile, Anmol Kharb delivered a spirited effort before succumbing to Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-23, 11-21.

Former junior world No. 1, Tasnim Mir, was bested by Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei, losing 6-21, 14-21 in just 27 minutes.

In mixed doubles, Thandrangini Hema Nagendra Babu and Priya Konjengbam were ousted 11-21, 14-21 by Thailand's Phuwanat Horbanluekit and Fungfa Korpthammakit.

Ayush Agarwal and Shruti Mishra also exited in the opening round, losing 10-21, 11-21 to Indonesia's Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.

India faced further disappointment in mixed doubles as the 34th-ranked pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde succumbed to a 20-22, 17-21 loss to Chinese Taipei's Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin in a 37-minute encounter.

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