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Indian star duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Saturday, 20th January defeated Malaysia’s fourth seeded Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia in straight sets to cruise into the final of the India Open 2024. The Indian pair dominated their opponents for the entire duration of 45 minutes, winning the match 21-18, 21-14.
The World No. 2 men’s doubles pair went neck-and-neck in the first game, to tie at 17-17, but the Indian duo cored three straight points to surge ahead and take the lead. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist came back in the second game to take a 10-6 advantage, but the CWG 2022 gold medallist mounted a comeback, winning the game with a 29-shot rally.
The former champions will now face the reigning world champions, Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the final on Sunday, 21st January.
HS Prannoy bow out of India Open Super 750 tournament
India’s HS Prannoy was completely outplayed by World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi of China. The Indian crashed out of the Super 750 tournament after a straight set loss 21-15, 21-5 in the semifinals on Saturday.
“I think the first game was quite posed but I gave 2-3 points in the end. I was not able to move well in the second game. All credit to him, he has some good shots. Happy that I could reach semifinals but still a lot of work needs to be done to go on and win tournaments,” Prannoy said after his loss.
