Lakshya, Satwik-Chirag cruise into semifinals of Hong Kong Open

New Delhi: Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the semifinals of the respective events at the ongoing Hong Kong Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Hong Kong on Friday. Sen played an exceptional game getting past fellow Indian shuttler Ayush 21-16, 17-21, 21-13 in the men's singles quarterfinal clash that lasted for one hour and six minutes.

Ayush, who is a rising Indian shuttler, caused a major upset on Thursday when he ousted 2023 World Championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka of Japan  in a thrilling three-game contest. Sen is next due to face the winner of the other quarterfinal between third seed Chou Tien Chen of Chines Taipei and Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.

Meanwhile, continuing their brilliant run in the tournament, Indian doubles men's doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag stormed into the semifinals beating their Malaysian opponents in three games. The Indian pair got the better of Arif Junaidi and Roy King Yap 21-14, 20-22, 21-16 in a 64-minute clash in the Super 500 tournament.

The duo has been in a fabulous form in recent times having clinched the BWF World Championships bronze medal. Even after making a sluggish start, the eighth-seeded Indian pair bounced back into the game with all the momentum at 12-all. They moved ahead in the game with powerful smashes giving very less chances to their Malaysian opponents. They proved to be powerful towards the end claiming the last five points in a row.

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After losing the first set by a big margin, the Malaysian duo made a strong comeback  in the second winning it by a narrow margin but in the third and final game, the Indians again rose to form to snatch a win. The world No. 9 Satwik and Chirag had edged out Thailand's Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul to secure a place in the quarterfinals.