Satwik-Chirag Reach Semis at India Open; PV Sindhu and Kiran George knocked out

New Delhi: While India's top hope in women's singles, P.V Sindhu made a premature exit, the men's doubles combine of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept the Tricolour fluttering by reaching the semifinals of the India Open BWF Super 750 event here on Friday.  On a day on which India's campaign in singles came to an end with the defeat of Sindhu in women's singles and Kiran George in men's, Asian Games gold medallists Satwik and Chirag stayed on course for their second consecutive final with straight games win over Korea’s Yong Jin and Kang Min Hyuk in the men’s doubles quarterfinals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here.

Satwik and Chirag were at their dominant best in their quarterfinal encounter against South Korea’s Yong Jin and Kang Min Hyuk, winning 21-10, 21-17 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.

However, it was heartbreak for the other Indians in the fray with Sindhu going down 21-9, 19-21, 21-17 against fourth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, the Paris Olympic Games bronze medallist, in women’s singles while Weng Hong Yang of China defeated Kiran 21-13, 21-19 in the men’s singles quarterfinals.

In the other matches, women’s singles top seed An Se Young of South Korea defeated Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min 21-11, 21-12 and Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand upset Chinese third seed Han Yue 21-17, 21-16. In the men’s singles quarterfinals, Paris Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen was made to work hard for a 21-19, 13-21, 21-8 victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

But it was the pairing of Satwik and Chirag that gave the sizeable crowd at the KD Jadhav Hall enough reasons to celebrate as they played a near-clinical match against the Koreans, who had upset the top seeds and world No. 1 Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the opening round. The Asian Games gold medallists raced to a 9-1 lead in the opening game and then controlled the proceedings to pocket the game in 18 minutes. The Koreas did put up a stronger fight in the second game the Indians were hardly under any pressure.

In the semifinal, Satwik and Chirag will face third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin of Indonesia. IANS

Also Read: India Open 2025: Sindhu, Kiran George, Satwik-Chirag cruise to quarters on mixed day

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