India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a winning return, while there was heartbreak for Lakshya Sen, who was forced to retire midway through his opening round clash at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Wednesday.
Back on court for the first time since their withdrawal from the All England Open in March due to Chirag’s back injury, the former World No. 1 doubles players displayed no signs of rust as they beat Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal 21-16, 21-13 in just under 40 minutes in the round of 32. It was Satwik and Chirag’s second win over the 41st-ranked Malaysian pair. The Indians are currently ranked 27th in the world. The pair had also missed the Sudirman Cup earlier this month, with Satwik battling health concerns. Prior to that, they had made semifinal appearances at both Malaysia Open and India Open this season.
India’s no. 1 singles player Sen was forced to retire hurt during his opening-round clash against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. Sen, currently ranked 17th in the world, started strong and took the first game 21-15. But his opponent, world No. 19 Lin, bounced back to claim the second 21-17. The match was evenly poised in the decider when Sen trailed 5-13 before he retired due to injury. The exact nature of Sen’s injury is not yet known.
In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde advanced into the pre-quarters, defeating the American pair of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett 21-16, 21-19 in 35 minutes. In the women's singles, Aakarshi Kashyap put up a spirited fight, but ultimately went down to World No. 4 Han Yue of China 21-17, 13-21, 7-21 in a 58-minute contest. Kashyap, ranked 46th in the world, started well and took the opening game 21-17. However, the third seeded Han bounced back strongly to win the next two games 21-13, 21-7, showcasing her superior control.
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