Macau, Aug 1 (PTI) Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen and promising Tharun Mannepalli advanced to the men’s singles semifinals of the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament after hard-fought wins in their respective matches here on Friday.
Taking the court first, the 23-year-old Mannepali, ranked 47th in the world, showcased speed and a versatile shot selection to edge out China’s Hu Zhe, ranked 87th, 21-12 13-21 21-18 in a 75-minute battle.
Later in the day, Lakshya, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and second seed here, eked out a tough 21-14 18-21 21-14 victory over Xuan Chen Zhu of China in his quarterfinal match that lasted one hour and three minutes.
Lakshya will be up against fifth seed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in the semifinals, while Mannepali will take on Malaysia’s Justin Hoh in the last four round. This marks Mannepalli’s maiden semi-final appearance at a BWF Super 300 event.
Earlier, he had reached the quarterfinals at the German Open in February.
Mannepalli, who joined the Pullela Gopichand Academy four years ago, has focused on improving his fitness, agility, and movement over the past two years. His hard work paid off this week as he also stunned top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the last eight.
The Indian, who won gold at the 37th National Games, was trailing 4-7 in the first game before rallying to 12-9. He then took control and scored six straight points from 15-11 to seal the game.
After the change of ends, Hu played with greater intent, leading 6-2 and extending the lead to 15-6. Mannepalli couldn’t close the gap as the Chinese player dominated the second game.
In the decider, Mannepalli surged to a 5-0 lead and maintained a healthy advantage up to 19-15. It got tense towards finish as he squandered three points, with Hu sending two returns on his forehand corner. However, Mannepalli stayed composed and landed a timely body smash to earn two match points. He then secured the win with a precise push to Hu’s backhand corner, raising his arms in celebration.
Mannepalli started playing badminton at the age of eight in Khammam, Telangana, before moving to Hyderabad after Class X to pursue the sport seriously alongside his studies. PTI SSC SSC KHS KHS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.