Satwik-Chirag storm into China Open quarters; Prannoy knocked out in second round

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the China Open Super 1000 quarterfinals with a straight-game win over Indonesia’s eighth seeds. Meanwhile, H.S. Prannoy lost a hard-fought men’s singles second-round match to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen.

Hyderabad: India’s lone challenge in men’s singles ended when H.S. Prannoy bowed out but there was something to cheer when the premier men’s doubles pair of R. Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty moved into the quarterfinal of the

China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana here on Thursday.

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Chirag and Satwik, who were once World No.1 in men’s doubles rankings, came up with a gritty display showing better tactics to record a 21-19, 21-19 win against the eighth-seeded Indonesian pair.

Importantly, the Indian duo showed the desired temperament and held on gamely to counter the constant shifts in momentum during both the games.

In the opening game, the Indonesians held a slender lead at 8-6 and later at 14-12, but the Indians kept themselves within touching distance.

Down 14-16, the star Indian duo won five straight points to surge ahead 19-16 before closing out the opening game.

Even in the second game too, the Indians rallied brilliantly after trailing 10-14 at one stage to level the scores at 18-all at one stage and then went on to clinch the issue.

Prannoy suffered a tough 21-18, 15-21, 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a 65-minute men’s singles second-round match.