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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

Satwik-Chirag pair wins, error-prone Srikanth goes down in India Open opener

Satwik and Chirag looked sharp as they opened up a lead and earned the bragging rights by grabbing the opening game

PTI New Delhi Published 18.01.24, 06:45 AM
Chirag Shetty (left) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy during the first round of the India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Chirag Shetty (left) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy during the first round of the India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday. BAI Media

Celebrated shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles event at India Open Super 750 tournament but an erratic Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after a straight-game loss to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu here on Wednesday.

World No. 2 Satwik and Chirag, who had finished runner-up at Malaysia Super 1000 last week in Kuala Lumpur, eked out a 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 win over Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee of Taiwan.

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Earlier, a flurry of brilliant shots was sandwiched between a series of unforced errors during the 47-minute opening round clash as Srikanth went down 22-24, 13-21 to world No. 18 Lee.

Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games gold medallists, looked sharp as they opened up a lead and earned the bragging rights by grabbing the opening game. But Fang-Chih and Fang-Jen managed to claw back in the second game to take a 11-5 lead at the break.

The Indian pair, however, led a late fight back to narrow it down to 18-19 but their opponents held their nerves to force a decider.

In the final game, Satwik and Chirag once again dominated the rallies with their attacking strokes to come up trumps.

“We are really happy with the way we are playing and the way we have started,” Satwik said.

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