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 Chira🃏g, the 2022 champions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk wit🌳h a barrage of attacking shots, winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes.
The victory marked their third conse🌊cutive semifinal appearanꦫce on the tour, following finishes in the last four stage at the China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year.
The seventh ꧑seeded Indians will face Malaysian third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin in the semifinals.
"Right from the w♋ord 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 are able to capitalize on the opponent being a bit slow and try to maneuver the shuttle around," Chirag said.
"We were pretty comfortable even though it was close. It was our mistakes we did in the last three points, so there was no tension. We are under control, we arಞe telling like nothing to worry, just one point at a time. So we kept believing that and we are v𓂃ery 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 Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a gripping 62-minute women's singles quarter♛final.
"It is sad that I lost in the third s🌺et 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 court. In the second and third sets, I was not leaving the drops or ha🎶lf-smashes o✃r cut drops. But, in the first game, I wasn't comfortable and made easy mistakes."
India's only hope in men's singles, Kiran George, then suffered a 13-21, 19-21 loss to China🌃's Hong Yang Weng. Nevertheless, his maidenꦛ Super 750 quarterfinal finish will give him confidence ahead of the upcoming tournaments.
In the other matches, top se🐈ed An Se Young of South Korea beat Singapore's Yeo Jia Min 21-11, 21-12 and Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand stunned Chinese third 𝐆seed Han Yue 21-17, 21-16 in women's singles.
In the men's singles quarterfinals, Paris Olympics champion Viktor Axelsen wa❀s 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 criss-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 points with two more smashes, before another thuꦯnderbolt 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 fro💎m t𝓰he 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 s🌺core at 16-16.
However, Chira⛄g unleashed a smash to extinguish any hope of a revival, and with a final net error from the Koreans, Satwik and Chirag grabbed three match point🅺s before sealing the match at the first opportunity.
Sindhu Vs Tunjung
Tunjun🐬g dominated early with her delectable drops, racing to an 11-4 lead at the break. Sindhu struggled with her strokes, and the game soon ♔slipped away.
In the seco๊nd game, the Indonesian grabbed a 6-2 lead after the change of sides but Sindhu fought back, levelling at 9-9 with Tunjung erring repeatedly. A wide shot f🎐rom Tunjung gave Sindhu a one-point advantage at the break.
Sindhu's attacking play, featur🌠ing powerful smashes, helped her reach 14-10 but Tunjung fought back, tying the score at 14-14.
A pumped-up Sindhu regained her composure, clinching two ꧙game points before Tunjung hit into the net, 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 after the break and kept the pressure on her opponent.
Tunjung moved to 17-14, but Sindhu responded, drawing parit🐼y with a drop and a net-shot winner.
However, Tunjungꦉ secured three match points and, despite Sindhu's best efforts, claimed the match with a cross-court winner.
