Patumwan (Thailand)
Top-seeded Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the semifinals of the Thailand Open after defeating Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami 21-12, 21-13 in 41 minutes at the Nimibutr Stadium in Patumwan on Friday.
The defending Asian Games champions dominated from the beginning, racing to a 10-0 lead in the opening game. Although the Japanese pair fought for a comeback in the second game by levelling the scores at 6-all, the Indians proved too strong to break down. Satwik and Chirag will next face third seeded Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia for a place in the final.
In women’s singles, PV Sindhu took the opening game 21-19 against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi but could not maintain the momentum, with the Japanese bouncing back to win the next two games 21-18, 21-15 in a hard-fought battle lasting one hour and 10 minutes.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen, the runner-up at the All England Open, was eliminated by Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Kunlavut started with an early 11-2 lead in the opening game, but Lakshya responded strongly with five consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four. Despite a hard fight, the Indian shuttler could not get past the Olympic silver medallist loosing 19-21, 16-21.
