Hylo Open 2022 badminton: Satwik-Chirag ease into pre-quarters; Saina Nehwal ousted
Saina Nehwal lost to Busanan Ongbamrungphan in straight games in the women’s singles. It was the Indian badminton star’s fourth straight exit in the opening round.
Indian badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Yang Lee and Chen Lu of Chinese Taipei in the men’s doubles round of 32 at the Hylo Open 2022 BWF Super 300 tournament in Saarbrucken, Germany on Wednesday.
The Satwik-Chirag duo, who won the French Open last week, bounced back after falling behind in the first game to beat the Chinese Taipei pair 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 in 61 minutes.
Yang Lee, the men’s doubles gold medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, was paired with Chen Lu instead of his usual partner Chi-Lin Wang.
Following a close start in their first game, the Chinese Taipei pair managed to score seven points in a row and put Satwik-Chirag on the backfoot. The Indian pair mounted a comeback but Yang Lee and Chen Lu held through to take the opening game.
A competitive second game saw points exchanged between the two pairs in quick succession. But Satwik and Chirag held their nerves in the closing moments to force a decider.
The Indian badminton duo stepped up in the final game and completed the comeback to progress into the round of 16, where they will go up against England’s Rory Easton and Zach Russ.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan’s winning streak over Saina Nehwal extended to six matches. The third-seeded Busanan won 21-15, 21-8.
London 2012 Olympic bronze winner Saina Nehwal was competitive early on in the first game but Busanan strung four points together at the end to gain the advantage. The Thai carried her momentum into the second game to win the match in 34 minutes. It was Saina Nehwal’s fourth consecutive first round loss.
In the last match of the day, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth beat China's Lu Guang Zu, currently ranked 21st, in the men's singles.
Kidambi Srikanth, the Commonwealth Games 2022 bronze medallist, sealed safe passage to the round of 16 with a 15-21, 21-14, 21-13 victory.
A flurry of points towards the end of the first game gave the Chinese player a lead in the match. However, world No. 11 Kidambi Srikanth bounced back in the second to make it a three-game affair. While Lu Guang Zu took the early lead in the third game, Kidambi showcased his mettle and got the better of his opponent.
Kidambi Srikanth will be up against world No. 43 Arnaud Merkle of France on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, HS Prannoy pulled out of his men’s singles match against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito. Prannoy, the current world No. 12 in the badminton rankings, had gotten the better of Rhustavito in their two previous clashes.
Hylo Open 2022 badminton: India day 2 results
Men’s singles
HS Prannoy conceded a walkover to Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
Sameer Verma retired against Jonatan Christie.
Kidambi Srikanth beat Lu Guang Zu 15-21, 21-14, 21-13.
Women’s singles
Malvika Bansod beat Clara Azurmendi 20-22, 21-12, 21-6.
Busanan Ongbamrungphan beat Saina Nehwal 21-15, 21-8.
Aakarshi Kashyap beat LeOnice Huet 21-11, 12-21, 21-7.
Men’s doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat Yang Lee/Chen Lu 19-21, 21-19, 21-16.
MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila conceded a walkover to Rasmus Kjaer/Frederik Sogaard.
Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala beat P.S. Ravikrishna/Sankar Prasad Udayakumar 22-24, 21-12, 21-17.
Women's doubles
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand beat Linda Efler/Isabel Lohau 21-18, 21-15.
Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker beat Vivian Hoo/Lim Chiew Sien 21-11, 21-12.