Malaysia Open: Chirag-Satwik pair and HS Prannoy march into quarterfinals

World championships bronze medallist men’s pair Chirag Shetty & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and India’s top-ranked shuttler HS Prannoy stormed into the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Playing on Court 3 at the Axiata Arena, World no 5 Satwik and Chirag outplayed their Indonesian counterparts Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana 21-19, 22-20 to strengthen their head-to-head record 3-0.

Chirag-Satwik will next face the winner of the match between world-champion Malaysian pair Aaron Chia & Soh Wooi Yik and Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi of China for a spot in the semifinals.

Earlier on Thursday, World No 8 Prannoy registered a 21-9, 15-21, 21-16 victory over 19th-ranked Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in a men’s singles match that lasted for one hour and leveled up the head-to-head record 1-1 with the Indonesian. He will square off with Japan’s Kodai Naraoka for a place in the last last-four.

Playing on Court 1 of the Axiata Arena, World No 8 Prannoy registered a 21-9, 15-21, 21-16 victory over 19th-ranked Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in over one hour of play and leveled up the head-to-head record with the Indonesian.

Prannoy showcased clear dominance in the first game as he wrapped it up with a 21-9 scoreline. Wardoyo, however, staged a comeback in the second game as the Indian could not cope with the Indonesian’s shots and the match went into the decider.

In the deciding game, both the players were engaged in a close fight before Prannoy opened up a five-point lead before the change of ends and quickly went on to seal the win.

India’s challenge in the women’s singles ended with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s 13-21, 21-15, 17-21 loss to Bulgarian sisters Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva.

-IANS

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