Picture Credit: Twitter
India’s star badminton doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a stunning return after bowing out in the Round of 32 of the Singapore Open and Spain Masters. The World No. 5 pair on their comeback, beat the World No. 1 pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto to advance to the semifinals of the Indonesia Open 2023.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dominated the world number one pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto and beat them in straight sets 21-13, 21-13. The Indian duo outclassed the Indonesian pair in just 41 minutes. The Indian pair are yet to lose a set in this tournament as they have won each of their games in straight sets.
However, India’s former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth bowed out in the Quarterfinal against China’s Li Shi Feng. The current World No. 22 Srikanth lost 14-21, 21-14, 12-21 in one hour and nine minutes against World No.10 Feng to exit from the competition. After losing the first set, the Indian came back in the second set, showing glimpses of his old self. Despite an injury, Feng secured the win in the third set comfortably, winning 21-12.
World No.9 HS Prannoy also came out on top in a competitive quarter-final against Naraoka Kodai of Japan. The Indian shuttler won the first set 21-18, 21-16 in a total of 55 minutes to advance into the semifinals of the Super 1000 tournament.
