Paris: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a grand comeback to storm past sixth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China and joined singles hopeful two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and mixed doubles pair, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto in the quarterfinals stage of the ongoing BWF World Championships here on Thursday.
Facing the Chinese pair in the Round-of-16, Satwik-Chirag narrowly conceded the opening game 19-21, before bouncing back in style and dominating the second game 21-15. The decider was a tense affair, with scores level at multiple points, before Satwik-Chirag sealed the victory 21-17 in 1 hour 6 minutes and secured their place in the quarterfinals. The Indians will next face the second seeds, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, aiming to extend their winning momentum.
Earlier in the day, Sindhu continued her surge in the mega event with a stunning win over second seed and world No. 2 China’s Wang Zhi Yi to reach the quarterfinals.
Sindhu outclassed the higher-rated Chinese star in straight games 21-19, 21-15 to continue her upper hand against the opponent. The contest lasted for about 48 minutes, with Sindhu maintaining her dominance in crucial moments to progress further in the most prestigious tournament on the calendar.
In the mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila pulled off an upset against fifth-seeded Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong, China. Coming from behind, after losing the opening game, the Indians held their calm and composure to seal the tie 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 to reach the quarterfinals.
Coming to Sindhu’s match, the five-time World Championships medallist started on a high and entered the first mid-game break with an 11-6 lead. However, the Chinese bounced back and gained a slight lead 19-17 before Sindhu unleashed her resilience and bagged four successive points to seal the game 21-19.
In the second game, Sindhu didn’t allow the Chinese to snatch away her early lead as she enjoyed the identical scoreline of 11-6 heading to the break.
The World No. 2 gained four consecutive points before Sindhu mirrored the feat to extend her lead to 15-11. The Indian made sure that she finished the encounter with a 21-15 win in the second game.
Sindhu will next face World No. 9 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the last eight. Sindhu has faced her four times and won twice.
On the other hand, Dhruv-Tanisha displayed a sheer dominance in the second game to gain eight points in a row to lead by 11-3. The Indians continued the momentum to win the game easily, 21-12.
The final game saw resistance from both sides before the Indian pair edged their opponents in the final moments to take the game in their favour 21-15.
The Dhruv-Tanisha pair is just one win away from becoming the first Indian mixed doubles duo to secure a medal at the World Championships. They will face Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei on Friday for a spot in the semifinals.
(IANS)
