China Open: Satwik-Chirag reach quarterfinals, 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 Indian 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.

But 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.