Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, had a successful start to the new season as they advanced to the second round of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament.
Satwik and Chirag, who reached the semifinals in 2023, will aim to continue their good performance and make a deep run in the tournament. They faced a stiff challenge from the Indonesian duo, who had defeated them twice last year at the Thailand Open and China Open.
Satwik and Chirag have been in impressive form, winning the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, a Super 1000 crown in Indonesia, the Korea Open Super 500, and the Swiss Open Super 300 last year. This led them to achieve their career-best ranking of World No.1, albeit for a brief period.
In their first game, Satwik and Chirag dominated with powerful smashes, taking a four-point lead at 8-4 and maintaining their advantage throughout. The second game was more challenging, with the Indians trailing for most of the match. However, they managed to level the score at 19-all and won the last two points to secure victory.
Prannoy, who had a remarkable last season with bronze medals at the World Championships and the Asian Games, as well as a title-run at the Malaysia Masters Super 500, couldn’t find his rhythm in this season-opening match. He struggled to keep up with his opponent’s speed, resulting in his defeat.
Another Indian player, Lakshya Sen, will begin his campaign against China’s Weng Hong Yang later in the day.