New Delhi: India’s men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty battled through a tough three-game contest against Denmark’s duo of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen to qualify for the semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 on Friday, September 4.
The fourth-seeded Indians secured a 21-13, 16-21, 21-18 win in a 70-minute clash to keep their impressive campaign going after clinching a silver medal at the Thailand Open Super 500 and a top-podium spot at the Singapore Open Super 750 in May.
Satwik and Chirag started the match brilliantly and took a 5-1 lead. They dictated the rallies with a flurry of winners and maintained their attacking style to open up a seven-point lead at 16-9 before comfortably winning the opening game.
The Danes shifted the gears in the second game, matching Satwik and Chirag’s intensity. When the scores were levelled at 15-15, Astrup and Rasmussen stepped up with a decisive six-point surge across two runs to force a decider.
The third and final game lived up to its hype, with both sides refusing to back down in a fiercely contested battle. With the scores equalised at 17-17, the match hung in the balance, but Satwik and Chirag kept their composure. They won three crucial points in a row to take a 20-17 lead
At 17-17, the contest hung in the balance, but Satwik and Chirag dug deep when it mattered most, stringing together three crucial points to move to 20-17. After conceding one, the Indians held their nerve to seal the match and book their place in the last four.
With the scores locked at 17-17, the contest hung in the balance. But Satwik and Chirag kept their composure under pressure, winning three crucial points in a row to take a 20-17 lead. After conceding one, the Indian duo held their nerve to seal the match and book their spot in the last four.
Srikanth’s run ends in quarterfinals
Srikanth’s campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals as the former world No.1 suffered a straight-game defeat against Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. The 33-year-old Indian, who had enjoyed a strong run at the US Open Super 300 by finishing runner-up earlier this year, was beaten 16-21, 16-21 by the 25th-ranked Lee Cheuk in 39 minutes.
