New Delhi: India’s challenge at the Singapore Open Super 750 received a major boost as the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, secured places in the semifinals on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Indian men’s doubles pair fought back brilliantly after losing the opening game to defeat Malaysia’s Khai Xing Kang and Aaron Tai 19-21, 21-17, 21-13 in a hard-fought contest lasting over an hour. The victory keeps alive their hopes of adding another major title to their growing list of achievements.
Satwik and Chirag now face a stern challenge against top-seeded Korean world champions Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae, who advanced after defeating a Japanese pair in the quarterfinals.
In mixed doubles, Kapila and Crasto progressed to the last four after Malaysian third seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei were forced to retire during the opening game of their quarterfinal encounter. The Indian duo will now take on Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara for a place in the final.
However, it was the end of the road for two of India’s biggest singles stars. Two-time Olympic medallist P. V. Sindhu suffered another defeat against world number one An Se Young, losing 21-17, 21-14 in the women’s singles quarterfinals.
Sindhu displayed moments of aggressive attacking badminton and briefly challenged the Korean champion, but An’s superior court coverage, precision and consistency once again proved decisive. The result extended Sindhu’s winless streak against the reigning Olympic champion to nine matches.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen exited after a spirited battle against Japan’s Koki Watanabe. The Indian fought hard before going down 19-21, 21-15, 15-21 in a gruelling 78-minute quarterfinal.
With Satwik-Chirag and Dhruv-Tanisha still in contention, India’s hopes of securing silverware at the prestigious Singapore Open now rest on the country’s doubles specialists as the tournament enters its decisive stages.
