Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advance to Australian Open Super 500 second round after nail-biting win over Chinese Taipei pair

Indian star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the men’s doubles second round after a hard-fought straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ko-Chi and Po Li-Wei at the Australian Open Super 500.

The world No. 3 Indian pair, who reached back-to-back finals at the Hong Kong Super 500 and China Masters Super 750, prevailed 25-23, 21-16 in a fighting 48-minute opening-round clash against Ko-Chi and Po Li-Wei.

In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost their opening match 10-21, 14-21 to Indonesia’s F. Kusuma and M. Puspitasari.

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Satwik and Chirag off to a slow start

Satwik and Chirag started slowly, trailing 2-6 in the first game, and the Taiwanese pair held a narrow lead until 16-14. The Indians fought back to lead 19-17, but the game remained close. After both sides saved multiple game points, the Indians finally took the opener when their opponents hit the net.

Satwik and Chirag took lead in second game

In the second game, Satwik and Chirag built a 7-4 lead, but a few errors allowed the Taiwanese pair to level the score. Both teams traded points until the Indians edged ahead 11-10 at the break. They kept control after the interval, extending the lead to 18-15, and sealed the match with two powerful smashes.