New Delhi: India’s premier men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a comeback to the court with an impressive win, while Lakshya Sen suffered a disappointing exit after retiring hurt midway in the opener at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Singapore on Wednesday.
Satwik and Chirag, who returned to action following their withdrawal from the All England Open in March due to Chirag’s back injury, showed a sign of rustiness in their first match in nearly three months.
The former world No.1 pair produced a clinical performance and defeated Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal 21-16, 21-13 in just under 40 minutes to enter the Round of 16.
The Indian superstar shuttlers, currently ranked 27th in the world, registered their second career win over the 41st-ranked Malaysian pair.
After pulling out of the All England Open, the pair also skipped the Sudirman Cup earlier this month due to Satwik’s health concerns. Before the All England withdrawal, they made it to the semifinals of the Malaysia Open and India Open this season.
Heartbreak for Lakshya Sen
Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for Lakshya Sen, India’s no. 1 singles player, as he was forced to retire hurt in the middle of his first-round clash against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei.
World No. 17 Sen was quick to get off the blocks, winning the first game 21-15. But world No. 19 Lin made a strong comeback to claim the second game 21-17.
With the match hanging in the balance in the decider, Sen retired hurt while trailing 5-13. The exact nature and extent of Sen’s injury are yet to be known.
In the mixed doubles category, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde progressed to the pre-quarters after edging past the American pair of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett 21-16, 21-19 in 35 minutes.
In the women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap was knocked out after losing to world No. 4 Han Yue of China 21-17, 13-21, 7-21 in a hard-fought 58-minute contest.
The 46th-ranked Kashyap opened the match with a strong start and took the opening game 21-17. However, third seed Han rallied to win the next two games 21-13, 21-7, to advance to the next round.
Back on the court for the first time since March, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty showed no signs of rustiness in the Singapore Open opener. Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
