China Masters: HS Prannoy, Chirag-Satwik pair sail into second round

Shenzhen (China): World Championships bronze medallists HS Prannoy and men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy sailed into the second round of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament after registering straight games wins here on Tuesday.

Prannoy defeated Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 22-20 in 50 minutes. The Taipei shuttler had defeated Prannoy last week in the second round of the Kumamoto Masters Japan.

The Indian was off to a slow start, trailing 6-9 in the opening game and went into the break with 11-10 lead. He then opened up a four-point lead at 17-13 and saw off the challenge at the later stage of the first game.

The second game was a tight battle, with both players deeply involved in intense rallies. Throughout the game, neither player managed to secure a lead of more than two points. Chen pulled slightly ahead of Prannoy right after the mid-game break, holding a narrow 18-16 lead. However, Prannoy made it 18-all and sealed the contest on his second match point opportunity.

In the men's doubles, world no 5 pair Satwik and Chirag registered an easy 21-13, 21-10 win over English duo Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in just 37 minutes.

In the women's singles, Aakarshi Kashyap lost to world No. 17 local shuttler Zhang Yi Man 12-21, 14-21 in 33 minutes. Aakarshi has been a regular on the BWF World Tour 2023 season but has yet to progress beyond the second round.

Other Indians Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and Priyanshu Rajawat will be in action in the men’s singles on Wednesday.

Results at the China Masters will count towards players’ qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The qualification window for badminton started on May 1 this year and will end in April 2024.