Sydney, Nov 20 Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen marched into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Super 500 on Thursday, setting up a tantalising all-Indian clash in Sydney, even as senior campaigners H.S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth bowed out early.
Ayush, who has been steadily rising through the ranks after clinching the US Open Super 300 title earlier this year, produced one of the biggest wins of his young career. The 20-year-old stunned fourth seed and world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka 21-17, 21-16 in a gruelling 68-minute contest, marking his second straight victory over the Japanese star this season.
In a tight opening game that swung both ways, Ayush held his nerve from 18-17 to pocket three straight points. He then shifted gears in the second game, pulling away from 14-all with a five-point burst to seal the match.
Awaiting him next is seventh seed Lakshya Sen, who battled past Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-17, 13-21, 21-13 to avenge his Malaysia Open defeat earlier this year. Lakshya looked in complete command early on, racing to a 14-4 lead in the opener before Chi mounted a late surge.
After conceding the second game, the Indian regrouped sharply, stitching together seven consecutive points from 7-7 in the decider to shut the door on his opponent and book his place in the last eight.
However, it was a day of disappointment for the experienced duo of Prannoy and Srikanth. Prannoy, who had been stretched to three games in his opener on Wednesday, couldn’t match eighth seed Alwi Farhan’s pace and fell 19-21, 10-21 in 42 minutes. Srikanth, still searching for rhythm despite a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters earlier this season, went down 20-22, 16-21 to Japan’s Shogo Ogawa.
In men’s doubles, top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the quarterfinals with a commanding 21-18, 21-11 win over Su Ching Heng and Wu Guan Xun of Chinese Taipei. They will next face the Indonesian fifth-seeded pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
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