Satwik-Chirag eye title run at French Open Super 750

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Fresh from a string of consistent performances across Asia, India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will aim to continue their excellent form when the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament starts in Paris on Tuesday.

The World No. 6 pair, finalists at both the Hong Kong and China Masters and semi-finalists at the Denmark Open last week, start their campaign against Indonesia’s Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Rahmat Hidayat.

Having rediscovered their rhythm after an injury-hit mid-season, Satwik and Chirag will aim to turn their recent form into another title pursuit at one of their favourite venues — the stage where they claimed their maiden Super 750 crown in 2022 and added a second in 2024. The duo also secured a second World Championships bronze earlier this year in Paris.

Among other Indian players, Lakshya Sen, who was runner-up at the Hong Kong Open, faces Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in his opening men’s singles match — a rematch of their Denmark Open clash last week, which Lakshya won in three games. Meanwhile, young US Open champion Ayush Shetty faces a tough first match against Japan’s Koki Watanabe.

In women’s singles, the emerging Anmol Kharb, a semifinalist at the Arctic Open Super 500, has drawn top seed An Se-young of Korea in the first round. Anupama Upadhyaya will face the fourth seed Han Yue of China, while World Junior Championships quarter-finalist Unnati Hooda meets Malaysia’s Karupathevan Letshanaa.

The men’s doubles event also features Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K, while the women’s doubles will see an all-Indian first-round encounter between Kavipriya Selvam–Simran Singh and the Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, along with Rohan Kapoor and Rutvika Shivani Gadde, aim to make early progress against experienced international pairs.

--IANS

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