PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Shine On Mixed Day At India Open
NDTV
After missing the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000 due to her wedding in December, PV Sindhu looked a bit rusty but managed to battle through a 21-14, 22-20 victory over world No. 24 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei.
PV Sindhu and the celebrated doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had to toil to advance to the second round of the USD 950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Tuesday, as home shuttlers experienced a mixed day. After missing the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000 due to her wedding in December, Sindhu looked a bit rusty but managed to battle through a 21-14, 22-20 victory over world No. 24 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei.
"After a long break, it's always difficult to find the rhythm, but I am happy to have won the match in straight games. My shuttle was going midcourt in the second game, but I was always confident I could pull things off," said Sindhu.
The world No. 16 Indian will now face Japan's Manami Suizu in the second round.
In men's doubles, title contenders Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded seventh, overcame a few nervous moments to defeat Malaysia's world No. 7 duo, Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee, 23-21, 19-21, 21-16.
After winning a narrow opening game, the Indian pair slipped in the second, allowing the Malaysians to force a decider. Satwik and Chirag took an 11-9 lead in the third game, but the Malaysian pair kept things tight until 18-16, before the Indians sealed the match following two net errors from their opponents.
