Satwiksairaj and Chirag’s pair marches into semifinals of the China Masters 750

New Delhi: At the China Masters Super 750 badminton competition on Friday, Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty easily defeated Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in straight games to advance to the men’s doubles semifinal. The top-seeded Indian duo outplayed the 13th-ranked Indonesian pair by 21-16 21-14, with a combination of offensive strategy.

News Flash: Satwik/Chirag storm into SEMIS of China Masters.

The star Indian duo beat WR 13 Indonesian pair Carnando/Marthin 21-16, 21-14. #ChinaMasters2023 pic.twitter.com/AY3KdkFBRV

— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) November 24, 2023

The winners of the other quarterfinal match between two Chinese couples, He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu and eighth seeds Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi, will square off against Satwik and Chirag, who have already won the Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and Swiss Super 300, earlier this year.

As it happened

It was difficult for their Indonesian counterparts, who withered under strain, as the former world number one Indian combination displayed excellent coordination by switching places often and changing the direction of their stinging attack.

Both the pair fought tooth and nail to get the match off to an even start. However, the Indian combination quickly took control of the game with a barrage of offensive shots to seize the lead and the first set.

Early in the second game, the Indians got ahead to a 5-2 lead by maintaining their pace. A few taps fell to the net, but Satwik’s forceful return gave them a two-point advantage at 7-5. The Indians led 11–6 at the half thanks to a barrage of home hits.