Malaysia Open: Sindhu advances to semis, Satwik-Chirag bow out

Kuala Lumpur: Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu advanced to the semi-finals of Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Friday after her opponent Akane Yamaguchi of Japan retired from their quarter-final game due to an injury.

Sindhu took the opening game 21-11 before the three-time World champion and third seed Yamaguchi, who was wearing a knee brace, decided to pull out of the match.

The win took World No 18 Sindhu's head-to-head record to 15-12 against the third-ranked Yamaguchi.

Sindhu is competing in her first tournament after returning from a prolonged injury lay-off.

In the semis, she will face the winner of the quarter-final between second seed Wang Zhiyi of China and Indonesian sixth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani.

 Later in the day, India's two-time world championships bronze-medallist men's doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag lost to lower-ranked Fajar Alfain and Muhammad Fikri of Indonesia 10-21, 21-23 in the quarterfinals in 47 minutes.

The third-seeded Indians, finalists in the Hong Kong Open and China Masters last year, were no match in the opening game with the Indonesians dominating with their powerful smashes.

After the Indonesian pair reeled off five straight points, the Indian duo finally opened their account. At 12-4, things looked dismal for Satwik-Chirag with Alfian and Fikri taking the last five points with ease to win the opening game.

The second game saw a more committed Indian pair slugging it out and managing to take a substantial lead on a few occasions.

Leading 18-14, Satwik-Chirag could not hold the advantage, allowing the opponents to draw level at 19-all. At 21-all, the Indonesians took the decisive last two points to win the contest. Agencies

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