Kuala Lumpur, Jan 12:
India’s doubles badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their imposing form by storming into the last eight round of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
The No.2 ranked Indian pair beat France’s Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar 21-11, 21-18. They will next lock horns with China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, who is ranked 32nd in the world.
Asian Games gold medalists, Satwik and Chirag, went ahead 11-2 in the first break with an aggressive approach against the French pair. But their rivals garnered seven straight points and reduced the gap to 12-14.
The Indian pair reclaimed their composure and secured the seven points on the trot to pocket the first game.
In contrast, the French pair came out strongly in the second game by taking an 11-4 lead over Satwik and Chiraj. Despite lagging, the Indian pair scripted a magnificent comeback, bringing the score on par to 16-16.
They executed their game plan well and brought themselves at three-match points. Despite conceding one match point, an unforced error by Labar secured the victory of the Indian pair.
However, Shrikant Kidambi did not make further progress in the tournament as he was beaten by Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus 13-21, 17-21 in the second round.
Kidambi, ranked 24, looked out of sorts facing the 20-ranked Long who wrapped the game in just 38 minutes.
Kidambi had his nose front with a 6-1 lead, but consistent unforced errors and wrong line judgments cost him heavily as Long made a comeback with six straight points.
The Hong Kong player carried on with a six-point burst, even though Kidambi made efforts to make a comeback.
In the second game, Kidambi managed to take a thin 11-10 lead, but could not sustain the lead and conceded a 14-12 lead to Long.
Though the Indian player reduced the gap to 16-18, Long pushed on with his exquisite touch skills.
Meanwhile, India’s women’s doubles pair Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto registered a thrilling victory over seventh-seeded Japanese pair Wakana Nagahara and Mayu Matsumoto 21,19, 13-21, 21-15.
