India Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Pair Enters Semifinals; PV Sindhu Bows Out

PV Sindhu, a former champion, fought back strongly after a one-sided opening game loss but faltered in the decider.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu's valiant fight ended in disappointment, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lifted the spirits of the Indian camp with a dominant performance as they stormed into the semifinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday. Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 champions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk with a barrage of attacking shots, winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes.

The victory marked their third consecutive semifinal appearance on the tour, following finishes in the last four stage at the China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year.

The seventh seeded Indians will face Malaysian third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin in the semifinals.

"Right from the word go, we were all guns blazing. I think that's what we wanted to do because once they were able to defend, if we are a bit slow, then they are able to capitalize on the opponent being a bit slow and try to maneuver the shuttle around," Chirag said.

"We were pretty comfortable even though it was close. It was our mistakes we did in the last three points, so there was no tension. We are under control, we are telling like nothing to worry, just one point at a time. So we kept believing that and we are very positive from the start as well," Satwik added.