French Open 2022 badminton: Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat former world champions to make semi-finals

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy kept India’s campaign at the French Open 2022 BWF Super 750 badminton tournament alive and kicking after the duo beat former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the men’s doubles quarter-finals on Friday.

Up against Japanese top seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, the 2021 men’s doubles world champions, the seventh-seeded Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy put up a masterful display to win 23-21, 21-18 in 49 minutes.

The Indian badminton pair will be up against the South Korean duo of Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in the semi-finals.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who knocked out the Japanese pair from the world championships earlier this month en route to a bronze medal win, began strong and raced to a 20-16 lead but the Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi saved four game points to draw level at 20-all.

The Indians, Commonwealth Games 2022 champions, however, held their nerves to take the all-important lead.

The second game proved equally engaging as Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, currently the top men’s doubles pair in the world badminton rankings, looked primed to draw level with a 18-16 lead but the Indian pair won five points on the trot to close out the contest.

It was Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s third win against the Japanese pair in four meetings.