THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Hong Kong, Sept 12: India’s star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open with a gritty performance on Friday.
The duo outclassed Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap in a thrilling three-game battle, clinching the opener 21-14, slipping narrowly in the second 20-22, and then recovering strongly to seal the decider 21-16.
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They will now face Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing-Wei of Chinese Taipei for a place in the final.
The pair had earlier shown their resilience in the pre-quarterfinals, coming from a game behind to overcome Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul 18-21, 21-15, 21-11 in a contest that lasted just over an hour.
Meanwhile, in singles, India’s top-ranked shuttler and world No. 20 Lakshya Sen, who was a semifinalist at the Paris Olympics, advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday.
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He defeated compatriot HS Prannoy, ranked 34th, with a comeback win of 15-21, 21-18, 21-10 in a match that stretched for an hour and eight minutes.
