Indian men's doubles pair Satwik-Chirag reach Thalinad Open semis

Patumwan [Thailand], May 15 : Top-seeded Indian men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the semifinals of the Thailand Open after defeating Japan's Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami 21-12, 21-13 in 41 minutes at the Nimibutr Stadium in Patumwan on Friday, according to a release.

The defending Asian Games champions dominated from the beginning, racing to a 10-0 lead in the opening game. Although the Japanese pair fought for a comeback in the second game by levelling the scores at 6-all, the Indians proved too strong to break down. Satwik and Chirag will next face the third-seeded Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia for a place in the final.

In women's singles, PV Sindhu took the opening game 21-19 against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi but could not maintain the momentum, with the Japanese bouncing back to win the next two games 21-18, 21-15 in a hard-fought battle lasting one hour and 10 minutes.

In men's singles, Lakshya Sen, the runner-up at the All England Open, was eliminated by Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Kunlavut started with an early 11-2 lead in the opening game, but Lakshya responded strongly with five consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four. Despite a hard fight, the Indian shuttler could not get past the Olympic silver medallist, losing 19-21, 16-21.

Earlier, Satwik-Chirag defeated their Malaysian opponents, Goonting Bryan Jeremy and Haikal Muhammad, 21-12, 21-19, while Sindhu won 21-13, 21-15 against Denmark's Amalie Schulz.

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