(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Indian badminton stars are shining bright at the Hong Kong Open! The dynamic men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty powered into the semifinals on Friday with a thrilling comeback win.
In a nail-biting three-game battle, Satwik and Chirag took down Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap. They grabbed the first game 21-14, lost a close second 20-22, and then sealed the deal 21-16 in the decider. This victory sets up an exciting semifinal clash against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing-Wei.
Earlier in the pre-quarterfinals, the duo showed their fighting spirit by rallying from a game down to beat Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul 18-21, 21-15, 21-11. The match lasted a gritty one hour and three minutes, proving why they’re India’s top men’s doubles team.
Adding to the excitement, Lakshya Sen, India’s world No. 20 and Paris Olympics semifinalist, advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday with a hard-fought win over compatriot HS Prannoy. Lakshya turned the tables to win 15-21, 21-18, 21-10 in one hour and eight minutes at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Lakshya had a slow start, letting Prannoy, ranked 34th, take the first game. In the second, he trailed 11-9 at the break but fought back to tie at 13-13. Despite Prannoy leading 18-17, Lakshya fired off four straight points to force a decider. There, he played smart, leading 11-8 at the interval and conceding just two more points to wrap it up easily. This marks Lakshya’s sixth win in nine matches against Prannoy.
With Satwik-Chirag and Lakshya keeping India’s hopes alive in badminton doubles and singles, fans are buzzing about more medals at the Hong Kong Open. Stay tuned for the next rounds!
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