Australian Open: Satwik-Chirag move to second round, Treesa-Gayatri bow out

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the second round of the Australian Open Super 500 in Sydney with a straight-game win over Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-Wei. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand exited early, losing to Indonesian opponents

Sydney: Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved to the second round of the Australian Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event, at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday.

The Indian duo outclassed Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-Wei 25-23, 21-16 in 48 minutes to set up a round of 16 clash with Su Ching Heng and Wu Guan Xun, another pair from Chinese Taipei.

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World No 3 pair Rankireddy and Shetty, coming off consecutive finals at the Hong Kong Super 500 and China Masters Super 750, recovered from an early 2-6 deficit against Taiwan’s Ko-chi and Li-Wei in the first-ever meeting between the opponents. The Taiwanese maintained a slight lead until 16-14, but Satwik and Chirag rallied to 19-17. The opener became a tight contest, with both pairs exchanging game points. A sharp net shot earned the Indians a chance to close the game, but the Taiwanese saved it with a strong smash. After several tense points, including errors on both sides, the Indians secured the game when their opponents hit the net.

Changing sides, Satwik and Chirag moved ahead 7-4, though two net errors and a powerful smash from the Taiwanese brought the game level. The next few points were shared evenly until the Indians took a one-point edge at the interval after a long Taiwanese smash. Maintaining steady pressure, they stretched the lead to 18-15 and wrapped up the match with two well-placed smashes, completing a composed finish.

In women’s doubles, fourth-seeded Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand exited early, falling 21-10, 21-14 in 40 minutes to Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. The match marked the Indian duo’s return after a three-and-a-half-month break, and they struggled to match the Indonesians’ tempo and precision.

India’s singles players — Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth and Ayush Shetty — will begin their campaigns on Wednesday, aiming for deep runs in the tournament.