BWF World Championships: Sindhu overcomes Malaysian challenge, Satwik-Chirag overwhelm Chinese Taipei pair

PARIS(France): India shuttler PV Sindhu kept her form intact by brushing away the challenge from Malaysia’s Karupathevan Letshanaa, in the Round of 32 on Wednesday at the ongoing BWF World Championships. In the men’s doubles category, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued to thrive on consistency and trounced Chinese Taipei’s Kuang Heng Liu and Po Han Yang.

Sindhu, ranked 15th in the world, ousted 40th-ranked Letshanaa in straight sets with a 21-19, 21-15 in a contest that lasted for 43 minutes to seal her spot in the Round of 16.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the two-time Olympic medallist as the Malaysian shuttler pushed Sindhu’s back against the wall. Sindhu struggled to find answers to the question that Letshanaa asked and trailed 14-18 towards the climax of the opening game.

With a comeback, the need of the hour, Sindhu upped the ante and blazed her way to four consecutive points, tilting the scales in her favour by bringing the scoreline level at 18-all. Despite standing on the verge of succumbing to defeat in the first game, Sindhu held her composure and raced to a 21-19 win in 22 minutes.

The second game turned out to be a complete contrast to the first one. Sindhu took an early 4-0 lead, courtesy of Letshanaa making unforced errors. Sindhu dictated the pace and extended her lead to five with the scoreline reading 7-2. She remained firmly in control at 16-8 and eventually hammered the decisive blow to enter the next stage with a 21-15 win in the second game. Sindhu will now square off against World No. 2 and reigning China Open champion Wang Zhi Yi.

In the men’s doubles category, Satwik and Chirag encountered a stern contest from Liu and Yang in the opening game. Despite the gravity of the challenge, the Indian duo weathered the storm in the opener and then cruised to a comfortable win in the second game.

Satwik and Chirag took 43 minutes to topple the Chinese Taipei duo with a 22-20 and 21-13 victory. The first game went right down to the wire, courtesy of the sheer tactical prowess of the two pairs. It remained a tightly knit affair, but Satwik and Chirag maintained a narrow 11-10 lead at the halfway mark.

It was lightning-quick reflexes from the Chinese Taipei shuttlers as every smash from Satwik returned to the Indian pair’s side. Despite facing a gritty resistance act, Satwik and Chirag managed to lead by 20-16. However, to everyone’s surprise, Satwik and Chirag’s nerves dwindled as the Chinese Taipei saved four successive match points to restore parity at 20-20.

Even after the unprecedented setback, they managed to secure a 22-20 victory in the opening game. The second game was a back-and-forth affair at least till the midway point. Satwik and Chirag took a 6-3 lead but then trailed by 7-9 as the momentum swung like a pendulum. From that point, they pushed the foot on the accelerator and blazed their way to a 21-13 victory.

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles event, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Castro overwhelmed Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan from Ireland. The Indian duo hardly broke a sweat and wrapped up the contest with a 21-11, 21-16 victory in 35 minutes.

They dominated the opening game and then quickly built a 12-8 lead in the second. The Indian pair had a scare after Kapila tumbled and appeared in pain while clutching his knee. He returned to the court and didn’t show any sign of pain as he moved to the Round of 16 with a victory in straight sets. (ANI)