Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the men’s doubles semifinals with a straight-game win.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the men’s doubles semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton competition here on Friday with a straight-game win against Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin. In 46 minutes, the top seeded Indian duo outplayed the world number 13 Indonesian combo 21-16 21-14. Satwik and Chirag, who won the Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and Swiss Super 300 earlier this year, will face the winner of the second quarterfinal match between two Chinese pairs, He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, and eighth seeds Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi.
The former world number one Indian combination displayed excellent synchronization by constantly switching places and changing the direction of their stinging attack, making life difficult for their Indonesian opponents, who collapsed under pressure.
The match began on an even keel, with both partners fighting tooth and nail. However, the Indian combination quickly began to dominate the proceedings, breaking off at 14-14.
Chirag made some good decisions as they went up 19-16, and then the Mumbaikar showed his aggressive determination once more, coming to the front court after serving to quickly close the issue with a fast return.
The Indians maintained their pace to take a 5-2 lead early in the second game. Satwik unleashed a strong return after a couple taps went to the net, ensuring a two-point lead at 7-5.
The Indians led 11-6 at the halftime break thanks to a flurry of smashes.
The Indonesians were unable to match their opponents’ aggressive attack from the start. The Indians quickly increased their lead to 17-10. Marthin produced a precise smash after the longest rally in the match (48 shots).
A lucky net chord gave the Indians three points, and Marthin then went to the net for seven match points.
Satwik and Chirag blew one before earning a video referral to finish in the top four.
