China Open: World No.2 Men’s Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a shock first round exit from the China Open Badminton on Wednesday, 6th September. They went down 17-21, 21-11, 17-21 against Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Maulana Baga. India’s Mixed Doubles duo Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy also bowed out from the tournament. With their loss, India’s campaign in the BWF Super 1000 series has come to an end.
Also Read: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen crash out from China Open first round
China Open Fixtures
Men’s Doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty LOST TO Muhammad Fikri/Bagas Maulana – 17-21, 21-11, 17-21
Mixed Doubles
Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy LOST TO Chen Tang Jie/ Toh Ee Wei – 15-21, 16-21
Men’s Singles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Muhammad Fikri/Bagas Maulana
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked two, lost to the world number 13 Indonesian duo in a contest that lasted one hour eight minutes. This is the second time this year that the Indian pair has lost against the Fikri-Maulana duo. Earlier they had defeated the Indian duo in the pre-quarterfinals of the Thailand Open in June.
Chirag and Satwik entered the contest as the highest-ranked players in the tournament following the first round loss of top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto. However they faced a good challenge from the Indonesians right from the start.
The first game was a close encounter. There was very little to separate both the players before the interval. However after the break, the Indonesian managed to inch ahead and sealed the first game with a four-point difference.
The Indians made a comeback in the second game. They stayed ahead right from the start and went on to dominate. By winning it 21-11, the World No.2 pair forced a decider. In the third game the Indonesians gave a good fight yet again. In what was a closely fought game, the Fikri-Maulana managed to take a 16-14 lead. The momentum soon shifted to their favour as they won the next four points and got to the match-point. Despite saving three points, the Indonesians had the last laugh as Chirag and Satwik succumbed to a first round defeat.
Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy vs Chen Tang Jie/ Toh Ee Wei
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Rohan Kapoor also crashed out of the tournament, They went down to the Malaysian duo of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 15-21, 16-21 in the first round. With the loss, the Indian pair have now bowed out from the first round in four successive tournaments.
On Tuesday, World Championship bronze medallist HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen also made a shock opening-round exit. Prannoy went down in three games to Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong. Lakshya Sen meanwhile lost to Anders Antonsen of Denmark in three games. Priyanshu Rajawat and Indian Women’s Doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also suffered losses in the opening round.
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