Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India’s best men’s doubles team, advanced to the quarterfinals of the China Masters badminton event on Thursday, defeating Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard of Denmark 21-19, 21-15. Rankireddy and Shetty were the sole Indians to win a match and advance in the contest after P.V. Sindhu, the Anupama It, Malvika Bansod, and the women’s a pair pair of Treesa Jolly or Gayatri, the Gopichand lost their assigned second-round corresponds to in this BWF World Tour Super 750.
Facing the global No. 15 pair, the Indian couple, played their debut match after the Paris Olympics, demonstrated their authority on the court despite trailing 5-2 in their first game and taking a narrow 11-9 lead throughout
The Danish duo fought valiantly, but the Indians ensured that they did not fall behind in the match, thanks to the former’s exceptional court abilities. In the end, Rankireddy and Shetty won the game 21-19.
In the following game, Rankireddy-Shetty learned from their past mistakes and started strong with three consecutive points to establish a 6-3 lead. However, the Danish opponents attempted to assert their presence in the game, but the Indian pair did not allow them enough room to build a lead, and they went on to win 21-15. The World No. 9-ranked Indian pair won the match in 44 minutes and will meet Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Pedersen in the quarterfinals on Friday.
In the men’s singles match, Lakshya Sen defeated Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-16, 21-18 to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals. Sen improved his head-to-head record against Gemke to 4-1 and is the sole Indian player in the singles category. The 23-year-old made a great start, taking an early lead on his opponent and then solidifying it to win the first game 21-16. In the second game, Gemke did his hardest to match Sen’s energy but was unable to defeat him in the duel.