Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s valiant fight ended in disappointment, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lifted the spirits of the Indian camp with a dominant performance as they stormed into the semifinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday.
Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 champions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk with a barrage of attacking shots, winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes. The victory marked their third consecutive semifinal appearance on the tour, following finishes in the last four at the China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year.
Earlier, Sindhu, a former champion, suffered a 9-21, 21-19, 17-21 loss to Paris bronze medallist Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a gripping 62-minute women’s singles quarterfinal.
“It is sad that I lost in the third set after fighting so hard, but I think the game is such. I have to obviously come back stronger. At that point, I would say anybody would have lost that point,” Sindhu told reporters.
“There were long rallies. I need to be more consistent and keep the shuttle in the court. In the second and third sets, I was not leaving the drops or half-smashes or cut drops. But in the first game, I wasn’t comfortable and made easy mistakes.”
India’s lone hope in men’s singles, Kiran George, then suffered a 13-21, 19-21 loss to China’s Hong Yang Weng. Nevertheless, his maiden Super 750 quarterfinal finish will give him confidence ahead of upcoming tournaments.
The match began with a fierce rally, but thereafter it was complete domination from Satwik and Chirag. The Indians kept the rallies short, launching relentless attacks and criss-cross net play to lead 11-3 at the break.
Jin and Kang tried mixing rallies with drops and deep tosses, but the Indians were relentless, zooming to 18-8. Satwik and Chirag soon earned 11 game points with two more smashes. Another thunderbolt from Satwik sealed the first game.
In the second, Jin and Kang initially held a slender 4-3 lead, but it was short-lived. A barrage of attacking shots from the Indians helped them make it 9-4 as they entered the interval with a five-point cushion following Satwik’s down-the-line smash.
The Koreans clawed back to make it 13-15 and won a 37-shot rally to level the score at 16-16. However, Chirag unleashed a smash to extinguish any hope of a revival, and with a final net error from the Koreans, Satwik and Chirag grabbed three match points before sealing the match at the first opportunity.
