Picture Credit: X

Picture Credit: X

India’s top ranked men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Friday, January 17 progressed into yet another semifinals of a Super 750 badminton tournament. The ace Indian duo of Satwiksairaj and Chirag put up a dominant performance in the quarterfinals to progress into the semifinals of the India Open.

The 2022 champions showcased attacking prowess as they went past the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk in just 41 minutes. They overcame the challenge, winning the match 21-10, 21-17 to move to the next round, where they will face third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin of Indonesia. Moreover, this win marked their third consecutive semifinals appearance on the tour, followed by their success in China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year.

PV Sindhu, Kiran George bow out of India Open 750 tournament

The two-time Olympic medallist and ace shuttler PV Sindhu had a disappointing outing as she went down against Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the women’s singles quarterfinal. Sindhu, who is a former champion, suffered a heartbreaking 9-21, 21-19, 17-21 loss against the Paris Olympic Games bronze medallist, in a battle which lasted for 62 minutes.

India’s sole contender in men’s singles, Kiran George also faced a defeat as he lost the match 13-21, 19-21 to China’s Hong Yang Weng. Although, Kiran George had previously beaten Hong Yang Weng, but the latter took an early lead to move from 7-6 to 11-6 at the break. However, the Indian shuttler managed to close the gap, but Weng was quick to secure the first set. The Chinese shuttler proved his prowess as he capitalised in the game, hitting criss-cross shots, followed by a few good smashes to clinch the second set as well as the game.