From that point on, Lakshya was always playing catch-up to the Indonesian, who comfortably took the opening game before stepping up the ante even more in the second to wrap up the contest in just 39 minutes.
This was Lakshya’s best run in a BWF Tour tournament this year. He had made the All England quarters earlier. Farhan now leads Lakshya 1-0 in head-to-head records.
Meanwhile, Tharun Mannepalli’s dream run in Macau was ended by Malaysia’s Justin Hoh.
The 23-year-old Indian shuttler, who upset top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China in the round of 16 before accounting for reigning junior world champion Hu Zhe’an of the People’s Republic of China in the quarters, went down 21-19, 16-21, 16-21.
Fresh off his two big wins, Mannepalli dominated Hoh in the early exchanges and led 17-12 in the first game. The Malaysian mounted a late challenge but Mannepalli, who had defeated Hoh in the Thailand Open earlier this year, held on to take the lead.
However, the world No. 45 Hoh responded in the next two games to win the match in one hour and 21 minutes.
Indian shuttlers will return to action on the 2025 BWF World Tour at the Hong Kong Open, scheduled to begin on September 9.