Paris (France): India’s strongest medal contenders in badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sustained a blow on Thursday to their campaign against the Malaysian pair with a defeat.
The battle between the Indian duo of Satwik and Chirag and the Malaysian pair got intense right from the start and the scoreline was 11-10 by the mid-break in the first set but Sat-Chi soon raced to a lead with a flurry of thundering smashes. They smashed the shuttle in the opponent’s court whenever they got a chance in the first set but the tables were to turn soon. The Indian pair continued their domination in the first set and bagged it by 21-13.
The second set saw the Malaysian pair adapting attacking tactics by directing relentless smashes at the body of the Indian shuttlers. It looked like Sat-Chi had run out of fuel on a few occasions while their opponents were very quick in the court. The Malaysian duo then won the second set by 21-14 thanks to their agility in the middle.
It was a cut-throat competition in the last set as both the teams were going very strong to book a spot in the semi-final. Smashes were nullified with solid defences while deceptive returns were neutralised with sharp returns. Malaysians won the final set by 21-16 in the end and secured a place in the semi-final.
There were huge expectations on the shoulders of the Indian duo of Satwik and Chirag to win the medal considering their sublime form in the last couple of years. But, when it came to keeping their composure intact in the crunch situation, the Indian pair faltered at the back end of the fixture. The Malaysian pair of Chia Aaron and Soh Wooi Yik will play against the Chinese pair in the semi-final.
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