Jakarta: India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, battled their way into the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 with a gritty comeback win Thursday, while PV Sindhu bowed out in the second round after a hard-fought three-game encounter.
The 2023 champions in Jakarta, Satwik and Chirag showed nerves of steel in a 68-minute rollercoaster against Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard. The world No. 22 Indian duo, coming off a semifinal run at the Singapore Open, edged the world No. 16 pair 16-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a contest that swung wildly before the Indians sealed it with a brilliant finish.
The match started on the back foot for Satwik and Chirag, as the Danes took control early, dominating the net and outpacing the Indians in the first game. Despite a mid-game fightback from 6-10 down to 10-all, the Indians couldn’t stop Kjaer and Sogaard from claiming the opener.
The second game saw the Indians respond with increased aggression and smarter placement, pushing their opponents into errors. From 14-all, the Indian pair stormed ahead with five straight points, holding off a late charge to push the contest into a decider.
In the tense third game, Satwik and Chirag raced to a 5-1 lead, only to see it vanish as the Danes fought back to 8-all. The battle went down to the wire, with Denmark holding match point at 20-19. But Chirag’s fearless return levelled the score, and a clutch serve from Satwik followed by a precise placement sealed a thrilling win — and triggered loud celebrations from the Indian bench.
They will next face Malaysian seventh seeds Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee for a place in the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, PV Sindhu’s campaign came to an end after a narrow 22-20, 10-21, 18-21 loss to Thailand’s world No. 8 Pornpawee Chochuwong in a gruelling 78-minute match.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, staged a strong comeback to take the opening game after being 10-16 down. But Chochuwong bounced back with a dominant second game and despite Sindhu leading 15-11 in the decider, the Thai shuttler’s consistency and Sindhu’s untimely unforced errors saw the Indian falter at the finish line.
IANS
