China Open: Satwik-Chirag enter quarters, Prannoy bows out

Changzhou (China), Jul 24 (PTI) India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinals of the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana here on Thursday.

The former world number one Indian duo displayed tactical discipline and composure to notch up a 21-19 21-19 victory over the eighth-seeded Indonesian combination in a tightly-contested encounter.

But it was the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who bowed out after a hard-fought 21-18 15-21 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a 65-minute men's singles second-round match.

Satwik and Chirag were made to work hard for their win as both games witnessed frequent shifts in momentum.

In the opening game, the Indonesians held a slender lead at 8-6 and later at 14-12, but the Indians kept themselves within touching distance.

From 14-16, the Indian pair won five straight points to surge ahead 19-16 before closing out the opening game.

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Leo and Bagas taking a 14-10 lead at one stage. But the Indians clawed their way back to level the scores at 18-18 and held their nerve in the closing stages to seal the match. PTI ATK APA APA