Singapore: India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, marched into the quarterfinals of the Singapore Open, even as PV Sindhu and H.S. Prannoy exited the tournament in the second round on Thursday.
Satwik and Chirag displayed grit and resilience in a hard-fought battle against the seventh-seeded Indonesian duo of Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
After dropping the first game, the Indian pair bounced back strongly to claim a 19-21, 21-16, 21-19 win in a marathon encounter that stretched over an hour and 14 minutes.
The victory marked a promising return to form for the Indian duo, who have been recovering from recent injury setbacks.
They now face a stern test in the quarterfinals against second seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu’s inconsistent run continued as she fell to world No. 5 Chen Yufei of China in a closely contested match.
Despite showing flashes of brilliance, especially in the second game where she rallied from 12-19 down to win 21-18, Sindhu couldn’t maintain her rhythm in the deciding set.
She eventually lost 9-21, 21-18, 16-21 in 65 minutes.
The result marked Sindhu’s seventh loss in 13 meetings with Chen and underscored her struggle to regain peak form.
Though she started her campaign with a convincing 21-14, 21-9 win over Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang, the former world champion was unable to sustain momentum against tougher opposition.
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Sindhu’s movement appeared laboured at times, and her inability to control long rallies allowed Chen to dominate the decider with precise smashes and superior court coverage.
India’s woes were compounded by H.S. Prannoy’s early exit in the men’s singles.
The seasoned shuttler was outplayed by France’s Christo Popov, going down 16-21, 14-21 in straight games in the pre-quarterfinals.
With Sindhu and Prannoy bowing out, India’s hopes now rest on Satwik and Chirag as they gear up for a challenging quarterfinal clash.
