Satwik-Chirag enter semifinals of China Masters

SHENZHEN: Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a solid show to outwit second seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark to progress to the semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Friday.

Playing their first tournament since the Paris Olympics, Satwik and Chirag, who had reached the finals in the last edition, registered a 21-16 21-19 win over the World No 2 pair in 47 minutes.

The Asian Games gold medallists will face either eighth seeds Japanese Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi or Korea's Jin Yong and Seo Seung Jae in the last four clash.

In the opening game, the Indians looked in good touch as they were up 11-8 at the break, which they extended to 16-10 with a flurry of fast-paced angled returns which dominated the rallies.

Satwik and Chirag kept a firm grip on the rallies to maintain the lead, grabbing six game points. A massive smash from Rasmussen and a net error from Chirag delayed the inevitable before the former sprayed one wide to hand the opening game to the Indians.

The second game was more competitive as the Danes dominated the flat exchanges to move to 7-5 after the initial duel. Satwik was called for a service fault at 8-8 but the Indians managed to grab a 11-10 lead at the interval.

Following a tight battle, Satwik-Chirag moved to 16-15 before the rivals inched to 17-16.

However, Astrup smashed into the net again to give a 19-18 lead to the Indians. A well-placed push from Chirag at the backline put them one point away and Satwik closed it with a smash.