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Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy required just 40 minutes to dispatch the Malaysian duo of Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal in the round of 32 encounter.
Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. (X)
Star Indian badminton doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made a winning return at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton event on Wednesday as the nation’s top-rated doubles pairing posted a resounding victory over Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal.
Shetty and Rankireddy required just 40 minutes to dispatch the Hon Jian and Haikal 21-16, 21-13 in the round of 32 encounter, which also turned out to be the Indian pairing’s first appearance after their withdrawal from the All England Championships
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However, Indian singles star Lakshya Sen was forced to pull out midway through his fixture against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. Sen opened the encounter with a 21-15 opening game win before Chun-Yi pulled back in the second game to level poceedings with a 21-17 win.
Sen, who was trailing 5-13 in the decider, has to retire from the contest citing lower back issues.
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“Lakshya had to retire from his Singapore Open match due to lower back pain and spasm, which he had been experiencing since last Saturday during practice in Singapore,” Lakshya’s father and coach DK Sen said.
“Despite trying his best, he wasn’t fully fit. The pain worsened during the match, and to prevent further injury, he pulled out of the third set. Our team will now focus on his recovery for upcoming tournaments.
“Recovery is our top priority now. We’re working hard to get Lakshya fit and ready for Indonesia.”
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Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde moved into the pre-quarters, with their 21-16, 21-19 win over the American pair of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett in 35 minutes in mixed doubles.
Aakarshi Kashyap, Unnati Hooda and Anupama Upadhyaya all went down in the women’s singles event as they lost in contrasting fashion to their opponents on the day.
Kashyap lost 21-17, 13-21, 7-21 to Han Yue in a 58-minute contest, while Hooda also relinquished an early advantage as she went down 21-13, 9-21, 15-21 in a 56-minutes to Wang Zhi Yi.
(With Inputs From PTI)
- Location :
Singapore, Singapore
- First Published:
