Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu's valiant fight ended in disappointment, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lifted the spirits of the Indian camp with a dominant performance as they stormed into the semifinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday. (More Badminton News)
Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 c𝄹hampions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk with a barrage of attacking shots, winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes.
The victory marked their third consecutive semifinal appearance on the tour, following finishes in the last♏ four stage at the China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year.
The sevꦅenth seeded Indians will face Malaysian third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin i♋n the semifinals.
"Right from the word go, we were all guns blazing. I think that's what we wanted to do because once they were able to defend, if we are a bit slow, then they ar⭕e able to capitalize on the opponent being a bit slow and try to maneuver the shuttle around," Chirag said.
"We were pretty comfortable even thoughꦜ it was close. It was our mistakes we d🌠id in the last three points, so there was no tension. We are under control, we are telling like nothing to worry, just one point at a time. So we kept believing that and we are very positive from the start as well," Satwik added.
Earlier, Sindhu, a former champion, suffered a 9-21, 21-19, 17-21 loss to Paris Games bronze medallist Indon꧑esia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a gripping 62𓂃-minute women's singles quarterfinal.
"𝐆It is sad that I lost in the third set after fighting so hard, but I think the game is such. I have to obviously come back stronger. At that point, I would say anybody would have lost that point," Sindhu told reporters.
"There were long rallies. I need to be more consistent and keep the shuttle in the cour🎉t. In the second and third sets, I was not leaving the drops or half-smashes or cut drops. But, in the first game, I wasn't 🅠comfortable and made easy mistakes."
India's only hope inꦐ men's singles, Kiran George, then suffered a 13-21, 19-21 loss to China's Hong Yang Weng. Nevertheless, his maiden Super 750 quarterfinal finish will give him confidence ahead of the upcoming 💟tournaments.
In the other matches, top seed An Se Young of South Korea beat Singapore's Yeo Jia Min 21-11, 21-12 and Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand stunned Chinese third seed Han Yue 21-17, 21-16 in women's si𓄧ngles.
In the men's singles quarterfinals, Paris Olympics champion Viktor Axelsen was ☂made to work hard for a 21-19, 13-21, 21-8 victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Satwik-Chirag Roll On
The match began with a fierce rally, but thereafter, it was complete 🌼domination from Satwik and Chirag. The Indians kept the rallies short, launching relentless attacks and engaging in crisཧs-cross net play to lead 11-3 at the break.
Jin and Kang tried mixing rallies with drops and deep tosses, but the Indians were relentless, zooming to 18-8. Satwik and Chirag soon earned 11 game poin☂ts with tw♏o more smashes, before another thunderbolt from Satwik sealed the first game.
In the second game, Jin and Kang initially held a slender 4-3 lead but it was short-lived. A barrage of attacking shots from the Indians helped them make ♐it 9-4 as they entered the interval with a five-point cushion following Satwik's 🍨down-the-line smash.
The Koreans clawed back to make it 13-15 and won a 37-shot 🍸rally to level the score at 16-16.
However, Chirag unleashed a smash to extinguish any hope of a revival, and with a final net error from the Koreans, Satwik and Chirag grabbed three ma🌜tch points before sealing the match at the first ꦛopportunity.
Sindhu Vs Tunjung
Tunjung dominated early with her delectable drops, racing to an 11-4 lead at the break. Sindhu struggled 𝓰with her strokes, and the game soon slipped a♈way.
In the second game, the Indonesian grabbed a 6🐽-2 lead after the change of sides but Sindhu fought back, levelling at 9-9 with Tunjung erring repeated🍒ly. A wide shot from Tunjung gave Sindhu a one-point advantage at the break.
Sindhu's attacking play, featuring powerful smashes, helped her reach 14-10 but Tunjung fought back, tying the score at 14-14.&n♛bsp;
A pumped-up Sindhu regained her composure, clinching two game points before Tunjung hit into the neౠt, allowing the Indian to take the first game 21-19.
In the decider, Tunjung raced to a 10-8 lead with both players exchanging intense rallies. Sindhu erased the deficit quickly a🍸fter the break and kept the pressure on her opponent.
Tunjung moved to 17-14, but Sindhu responded, drawing parity with a drop and a net-sho♐t winner.
However, Tunj🐟ung secured three match points and, despite Sindhu's best efforts, claimed the match with a cro🔯ss-court winner.
