Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty battled their way to victory at the Thailand Open, overcoming a tough challenge in the men's doubles competition to advance to the next round.
Key Points
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana in a thrilling three-game match at the Thailand Open.
- The Indian pair, Satwik and Chirag, rallied from behind in the second game to level the match.
- Satwiksairaj and Chirag dominated the third game to secure their victory and advance to the next round.
- Lee Zii Jia defeated India's Manav Choudhary in a qualifying match after recovering from injury.
Top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty survived a stiff challenge before defeating Indonesia's Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana in a thrilling three-game opener of the men's doubles competition at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament here on Tuesday.
Satwik-Chirag Battle Back for Victory
The world No. 4 Indian pair registered a 19-21, 23-21, 21-10 win over Muh and Bagas in 64 minutes.
The Indian pair found themselves trailing 11-16 in the second game before reeling off seven straight points to turn the tide.
Muh and Bagas fought back to make it 18-18, but Satwik and Chirag held their nerve to level the contest.
The second game remained closely fought, with both pairs engaged in long rallies before the Indians managed to take a slender three-point lead at the interval.
The Indonesian pair, however, dominated the exchanges after the break and moved ahead 17-14. Despite a spirited fightback from the Indians, the match eventually went into a decider.
Dominant Performance in Decisive Game
In the third game, Satwik and Chirag stamped their authority, racing to an 11-5 lead at the break before cruising through the remainder of the contest.
The Indian pair will face Malaysia's Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal next.
Other Matches at the Thailand Open
Earlier, Malaysia's Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia, who returned to action after recovering from a right ankle injury and back issues, defeated India's Manav Choudhary 21-19, 21-18 in a qualifying match.
In mixed doubles qualification, India's M Jaglan and L Jaglan lost 11-21, 18-21 to Chinese Taipei's Tsai Fu Cheng and Sung Yu Hsuan, while in women's singles qualification, Thailand's Y Ketklieng beat India's A Shahapurkar 21-5, 21-7.
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