China Open: Indian pair of Satwik and Chirag enters quarters, Prannoy bows out

India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinals 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.

The former world number one duo displayed tactical discipline and composure to notch up a 21-19 21-19 victory over the eighth-seeded Indonesian combination in a tightly-contested encounter.

“It was quite a topsy-turvy match — just back and forth the whole time… We didn’t really have a sizable lead, and neither did they. Eventually, I think around 16-something, we finally had that breakthrough — got 3-4 points in a row and managed to close out the first game," Chirag said. “But I think, at the start of the second game, we could have been a bit more composed. Not safer exactly — just calmer. I feel like we could’ve restricted them a bit more. That said, they played some really good badminton too — especially on service receive. But yeah, overall, happy we could finally get that win."

It was the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who bowed out after a hard-fought 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.

Satwik and Chirag were made to work hard for their win as both games witnessed frequent shifts in momentum.

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

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Leo and Bagas taking a 14-10 lead at one stage. But, the Indians clawed their way back to level the scores at 18-18 and held their nerve in the closing stages to seal the match.

“Yeah, I think with each passing day, we’re definitely feeling better. There’s still a long way to go — I wouldn’t say we’re at our best just yet. But I’m happy with the way we’ve been playing," Chirag said. “We haven’t played that many tournaments over the past year, so that’s one of the reasons we’ve entered Macau."

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