India’s Asian Games 2022 gold medallists Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy alongside bronze medallist HS Prannoy recorded contrasting victories and moved into the semi-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024, organized by the Badminton Association of India, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
While Chirag-Satwik registered a dominating 21-7, 21-10 victory against Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark, Prannoy had to dig in to secure a maiden semi-final spot at the tournament defeating Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei 21-11, 17-21, 21-18.
Chirang and Satwik took the attack to their opposition in the opening game and smashed their way to an 11-3 lead. They then kept their foot on the pedal to close out the game in a mere 16 minutes. The duo kept the momentum going in the second game by scoring eight consecutive points to set up a highly anticipated clash with former World Champions Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia of Malaysia in the semi-finals.
Reflecting on the result, Chirag said, “Against them (Kim and Anders), it is not always a game where you are challenged skillfully but it is also mentally. Whoever wins the mental battle comes out on top and today we did that quite well. We usually don’t play such mind games, but today we made sure that we only receive and not play at their rhythm. The way we started off was in a convincing fashion and we kept it through the very end. We are really happy with the way we played and we want to keep the momentum for tomorrow as well and give 100%.”
Much like his compatriots, Prannoy made a strong start in his game against T.W. Wang by winning a 26-shot rally that helped him take a 13-4 lead in the first game. The second game saw a rejuvenated Wang taking a lead of 13-6, and though Prannoy tried to narrow the gap, the 28-year-old held on to force a tie-breaker.
There was not much that separated the two players in an intense third game. With the score tied at 16-16, Prannoy seized a two-point lead and ultimately claimed victory in an hour and 17 minutes to hand Wang his fourth quarterfinal exit at the tournament.
“I think it is always tough to play against somebody like Wang Tzu Wei, who is exceptionally good along the net and attacks. It was important for me to get that first game because he is somebody who gets going right from the start. The second game didn’t go really well but I am really proud of what I could do in the third game to fight back. Shi Yu Qi has been playing really well in the last six months and he looks pretty solid out there. So it is going to be tough physically and the major thing is to get the body ready for tomorrow,” said HS Prannoy after his victory. The World No.9 will face sixth-seeded Shi Yu Qui of China in the final four.
Despite the contrasting nature of their victories, both Chirag-Satwik and HS Prannoy now find themselves in the driving seat to win their respective categories at the India Open 2024. They go into their respective semi-finals in good form and as the favourites to win the tournament. In other words, one could also say that from here on, the championship is theirs to lose.
