BWF French Open | Satwiksairaj-Chirag Shetty beat World Champions in men’s doubles; Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu enter quarter-finals

World no 11 men’s badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stunned World Champions from Indonesia Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the round of 16 of the French Open. The Indian duo got the better of the World no. 2 pair by 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 in a match which went for 53 minutes.

After winning a competitive first game 21-18, the Indians lost the second game by the same margin. However, an excellent comeback in the third game helped the Indian duo to win the game 21-13 and make their way into the quarter-final.

In the women’s singles events, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal also qualified for the quarter-finals by winning their respective matches in the round of 16 at the Super 750 tournament in Paris on Thursday. Nehwal made it into the quarters with a straight-game win over Denmark’s Line Hjmark Kjaersfeldt. The Indian shuttler got the better of her opponent in the pre-quarters 21-10, 21-11 in 27 minutes.

Sindhu also registered a straight game win in the pre-quarterfinal round last evening. The Telangana shuttler got the better of Singapore youngster Yeo Jia Min by 21-10, 21-13.

Shubankar Dey’s campaign in Paris has come to an end in the round of 16 as he lost in straight games against Indonesia’s Shesar Rhustavito in just 30 minutes. With Dey’s loss, Indian challenge in the men’s singles has also come to an end.