Badminton News: India’s pair of men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty confidently qualified for the Round of 16 at the World Championships in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
They picked up a decisive straight win over Australian pair Kenneth Zhe Hooi Choo and Ming Chuen Lim.
Apart from that, India’s women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also put in a commendable performance, advancing to the third round with back-to-back wins over Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun.
Ranked 2nd in the world, the duo Satwik and Chirag, who in the previous edition had won a bronze medal, proved clinical and dominated their Australian opponents with a score of 21-16, 21-9. game lasting 30 minutes.
The defending Commonwealth Games champions, who have won four titles this season, next face tenth-seeded Indonesians Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin.
Previously, world number 19s Gayatri and Treesa, who have reached the semi-finals of the All England Championships in the last two editions, beat 37th-ranked Chang/Yang 21-18, 21-10 in 38 minutes.
The Indian pair, who received a first-round bye, will face a tough task against Chinese top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan in the next round.
Satwik and Chirag barely broke a sweat as they made it 7-3 before entering the break four points clear. The match barely saw a long rally as the Indian team were ahead of their rivals.
Satwik/Chirag kept the lead after resuming the game, going 15-11 then 17-13. Chirag eventually sent one in the middle for four game points and Satwik closed the game with a return from the back.
After the score was 4-4 in the second match, Satwik/Chirag took over with their superior game. The duo entered the interval with a six-point lead following a quick clean exchange and hard drive from Satwik.
Choo and Lim tried to put pressure on India but they just didn’t have the ability to bother Satwik and Chirag, who immediately grabbed 11 match points with an accurate return from Mumbaikar.
Article Tags: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, BWF World Championships 2023
