Satwik-Chirag win on return; injured Sen withdraws from Singapore Open

India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag made a winning return, but there was heartbreak for Lakshya Sen, who was forced to retire midway due to lower back pain at the Singapore Open

Singapore: India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a winning return, but there was heartbreak for Lakshya Sen, who was forced to retire midway due to lower back pain at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

Back on the court for the first time since their withdrawal from the All England Opeg n in March due to Chirag’s back injury, the former world No.1 pair displayed no signs of rust as it beat Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal 21-16 21-13 in just under 40 minutes in the round of 32.

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It was Satwik and Chirag’s second win over the 41st-ranked Malaysian pair. The Indians are currently ranked 27th in the world.

Chirag and Satwik had also missed the Sudirman Cup earlier this month, with Satwik battling health concerns. Prior to that, they had made semifinal appearances at both the Malaysia Open and India Open this season.

India’s no. 1 singles player Sen, was forced to retire during his opening round clash against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei.

Sen, currently ranked 17th in the world, started strong and took the first game 21-15. But his opponent, world No. 19 Lin, bounced back to claim the second 21-17.

The match was evenly poised in the decider when Sen trailed 5-13 before he retired due to injury.

“Lakshya had to retire from his Singapore Open match due to lower back pain and spasm, which he had been experiencing since last Saturday during practice in Singapore,” Lakshya’s father and coach, DK Sen, told the media from Singapore.

“Despite trying his best, he wasn’t fully fit. The pain worsened during the match, and to prevent further injury, he pulled out of the third set. Our team will now focus on his recovery for upcoming tournaments.

“Recovery is our top priority now. We’re working hard to get Lakshya fit and ready for Indonesia.” In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde advanced to the pre-quarterfinals, defeating the American pair of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett 21-16, 21-19 in 35 minutes.

In the women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda put up a spirited fight but ultimately went down to world No. 4 Han Yue and world no. 2 Wang Zhi Yi respectively.

While Kashyap went down 21-17 13-21 7-21 to Han in a 58-minute contest, Hooda also squandered an opening game advantage to lose 21-13 9-21 15-21 in a 56-minute affair.

However, Anupama Upadhyaya was no match for Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei, losing 12-21 16-21 in 41 minutes.

The doubles pair of Vaishnavi Khadkekar and Alisha Khan lost 8-21 9-21 to the Australian combination of Gronya Somerville and Angela Yu.