Satwik & Chirag shine in Indonesia Open, Sindhu exits early

India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinals, while two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu lost in the women's singles second round at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Thursday. Satwik and Chirag, the 2023 champions, showed great temperament under pressure to register a hard-fought 16-21, 21-18, 22-20 win over world number 16 Danish pair of Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard in a 68-minute second-round clash.

Satwik and Chirag, who had reached the semifinals of the Singapore Open Super 750 last week, thus remained the only surviving Indians in the competition.

The former world number one pair will face Malaysian seventh seeds Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee next.

"Today felt like one of those days where we just weren’t at our best," Satwik said.

"It wasn’t about the strategy being wrong — it was more that we were giving away the points. If you look back, nearly 15 to 20 points came from our own mistakes. They didn’t win those points — we handed them over.

"In the first game, it was 15-all, and then suddenly it slipped to 21-15. I just felt like we weren’t focused enough — like we weren’t really there today. But even then, we kept believing, taking it one point at a time.

"The coaches kept telling us, ‘Calm down, it’s okay even if you lose, just relax.’ So we tried to stay calm and composed, to just play our game and see how it goes," he added.

Earlier, Sindhu faltered in the deciding game to go down to world number 8 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the second round.

Sindhu squandered a 15-11 lead in the decider to lose 22-20, 10-21, 18-21 in a gruelling 78-minute battle.

It was a disappointing day for the rest of the Indian contingent, as Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, along with the women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, also bowed out in the second round.

While Sathish and Aadya were outclassed 7-21, 12-21 by the sixth-seeded Thai duo of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in just 25 minutes, Gayatri and Treesa put up a fight before losing 13-21, 22-24 to Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in 46 minutes.

Satwik and Chirag, playing only their second tournament since returning from injury, had to do the catch-up in the opening game, as the Danes dominated the net play with sharp interceptions and won most of the short rallies.

The Indians trailed 6-10 at one stage and, although they pulled level with four straight points, the Danish pair kept their nose ahead to pocket the opening game.

The second game was a tight affair, with the Indians putting pressure on the back court. From 14-14, Satwik and Chirag reeled off five straight points to force a decider.

They carried the momentum into the third game, racing to a 5-1 lead. But the Danes clawed their way back to 8-8 after two unforced errors from Satwik. The short rallies continued and the Danes held a slender one-point lead at the mid-game interval.

The Indians stayed close at 14-15 despite a few misjudged lifts going long. Two quick points earned by Chirag brought them back at 16-17, and they eventually levelled at 19-19.

The Danes earned a match point, but Chirag’s sharp body return made it 20-all. Chirag then produced a fine serve to earn match point, and Satwik sealed the win with a precise return that caught the line, sparking celebrations.

In the women's singles, Sindhu looked in control after overturning a 10-16 deficit to win the first game. She led 15-11 in the decider and had the momentum, but a series of errors proved costly.

Chochuwong capitalised on the lapse, winning five straight points — four of them due to Sindhu’s miscued smashes and drops in fast conditions.

"I think I should have converted it to win...but overall, I'm happy with my performance. A lot to learn from this match and this tournament as well and prepare for the next one," Sindhu said.