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India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, stormed into the quarterfinals of the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament on Thursday with a straight-games win over Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana. The former world No.1 duo showcased impressive tactical awareness and composure to overcome the eighth-seeded Indonesian pair 21-19, 21-19 in a closely fought second-round match. “It was quite a topsy-turvy match, just back and forth the whole time. We didn’t really have a sizable lead, and neither did they. Eventually, I think around 16-something, we finally had that breakthrough — got 3–4 points in a row and managed to close out the first game,” Chirag said after the match, as quoted by PTI. “But I think, at the start of the second game, we could have been a bit more composed. Not safer exactly, just calmer. I feel like we could’ve restricted them a bit more. That said, they played some really good badminton too, especially on service receive. But yeah, overall, happy we could finally get that win,” he added. The match saw frequent swings in momentum, with both teams exchanging leads throughout. In the first game, the Indonesians edged ahead at 8-6 and 14-12, but Satwik and Chirag responded strongly, winning five consecutive points from 14-16 to gain control and eventually take the game. The second game followed a similar script. Leo and Bagas opened up a 14-10 lead, but the Indians staged another comeback, levelling the scores at 18-all before sealing the match in two games.
Poll
Do you think Satwik and Chirag can reach the finals of the China Open?
“Yeah, I think with each passing day, we’re definitely feeling better. There’s still a long way to go. I wouldn’t say we’re at our best just yet. But I’m happy with the way we’ve been playing,” Chirag said. “We haven’t played that many tournaments over the past year, so that’s one of the reasons we’ve entered Macau.” Meanwhile, in men’s singles, HS Prannoy exited the tournament after a 21-18, 15-21, 8-21 defeat to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought 65-minute second-round clash.
