Page 3 - Chirag Shetty

Our execution was wrong, says Satwiksairaj after World Championship exit

Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy admitted the he and his men's doubles partner Chirag Shetty lacked in their execution during the quarterfinal loss at the World Championships but said the fact that they still managed to make it a close affair shows their "champion mentality". Satwiksairaj and Chirag missed out on a second World Championships medal after suffering a shocking loss to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the men's doubles quarterfinals on Friday. The world number two Indian pair, which had claimed a maiden bronze in the last edition, couldn't produce an attacking game and went down 18-12 19-21 to the 11th seeded Danish combination, the 2021 bronze winners, in a 48-minute battle. "I think the execution was wrong, we played bad but still we were close. We were not comfortable in the match still we were 21-18 21-19, that is champion mentality," Satwik said after the match. Chirag found the going tough, while Satwik tried to keep India in the match

World Championships: Prannoy assures India of a medal with win over Axelsen

HS Prannoy extracted the last ounce of energy from his reservoir to stun two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a thrilling 68-minute quarterfinal to ensure a medal for India in the World Badminton Championship here on Friday. In a nail-biter, Prannoy once again showed his big-match temperament as he fought back from a game down to outwit the world No. 1 one Axelsen 13-21 21-15 21-16 in-front of his home crowd at the Roal Arena. The 31-year-old from Kerala, who claimed the Malaysia Masters Super 500 and reached the finals at Australian Open Super 500 this year, thus continued India's dream run at the World Championships as the victory sealed the country's 14th medal in the event. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu won five of them, including a gold in 2019, and Saina Nehwal (silver and bronze) claimed two. Kidambi Srikanth (silver), Lakshya Sen (bronze), B Sai Praneeth (bronze) and Prakash Padukone (bronze) are the other medallists in singles. Satwiksairaj ...

BWF World Championships: Satwik-Chirag, Treesa-Gayatri pairs enter round 3

Star Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a comfortable straight-game win over Australian duo of Kenneth Zhe Hooi Choo and Ming Chuen Lim in the World Championships here on Wednesday. Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also produced a solid performance to enter round 3 with a straight-game win over Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun of Chinese Taipei. World No. 2 pair of Satwik and Chirag, who had won a maiden bronze in the last edition, produced a clinical display to see off their Australian rivals 21-16 21-9 in 30 minutes. The reigning Commonwealth Games champions, who have won four titles this season, will face Indonesia's 10th seeds Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin next. Earlier, world number 19 Gayatri and Treesa, who reached the semifinals of the All England Championships in the last two editions, beat Chang and Yang, ranked 37th, 21-18 21-10 in 38 minutes. The India

BWF World Championships: Prannoy, Sen and Sat-Chi lead India's medal hunt

The in-form duo of HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen will be at the forefront of India's medal hunt at the BWF World Championships beginning here on Monday. All eyes will also be on Satwiksaraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the country's best doubles pair at world number 2, as they look to better the colour of the bronze that they claimed in the last edition. India have won 13 medals, including one gold, four silvers and 8 bronze medals since 1977 when the tournament first started before turning into a biennial event from 1983 to 2005. It has been an annual event, with the exception of the Olympic year, ever since. While the legendary Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a medal -- a bronze -- at the World Championships in 1983, the country's shuttlers, led by PV Sindhu, have managed to win at least one medal since 2011. Sindhu, the 2019 champion, is the most successful Indian with five medals but she has not been able to reach the podium since Basel edition and has looked a pale

Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag pair get first-round bye in BWF World Championships

Two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu and men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received first-round byes in the BWF World Championships 2023 draw held here on Thursday. This year's BWF World Championships will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from August 21 to 27. Sindhu, who won the women's singles world title in 2019, however, has been handed a tough draw and she might face Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon and top seed An Se Young of Korea as they are grouped in the top half of the draw. Sindhu is the only Indian to feature in the women's singles competition. The men's doubles combination of World Championships bronze medallists Satwik and Chirag achieved a career-best world no.2 ranking last month following their title triumph in Korea Open and are in the form of their life. India's men's singles challenge will be led by in-form HS Prannoy, seeded second in the upcoming event. He will will face Kalle Koljonen of Finland. The other Indians in the fr

Japan Open 2023: Satwik-Chirag bow out; Lakshya Sen enters semifinals

India's Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run, notching up a straight-game win over local hope Koki Watanabe to progress to the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday. A 2021 world championship bronze medallist, world number 13 Sen registered a 21-15 21-19 victory over Watanabe, ranked 33rd, to make his third successive semifinals, following his exploits in Canada and the United States. The 21-year-old from Almora, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, will play either fifth seed Indonesian Jonatan Christie or third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand. In-form men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, however, couldn't produce their 'A' game, going down fighting 15-21 25-23 16-21 to Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei. Sen, who had won the Canada Open Super 500 early this month, opened up a 5-3 lead early on before moving to 11-7 at the break. The Indian didn't have much problem negotiati

Japan Open Badminton: Prannoy, Lakshya and Satwik-Chirag move to last 8

India's HS Prannoy prevailed in the match of compatriots after Lakshya Sen and the in-form men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sailed into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open badminton here on Thursday. The 21-year-old Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sen advanced to the quarters with a convincing pre-quarterfinals 21-14, 21-16 win over Japanese shuttler Kanta Tsuneyama in straight sets. Fresh from their triumph in the Korea Open, the Indian men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj and Chirag too secured progress to the last-eight stage with their dominant win over the Danish pair of Lasse Molhede and Jeppe Bay. Satwiksairaj and Chirag won 21-17, 21-11. Then, in the match between compatriots Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth, the former emerged victorious with a 19-21, 21-9, 21-9 win to advance to the quarters of the Super 750 tournament. However, the Indian women's pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly suffered an exit despite their valiant

Japan Open Badminton: PV Sindhu loses, makes another first-round exit

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made yet another first-round exit but Lakshya sen staved off a spirited challenge from fellow Indian Priyanshu Rajawat to progress to the second round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday. Newly-crowned Korea Open champion Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and and Chirag Shetty also made a positive start to their campaign, extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches, following the wins in Yeosu and Indonesia. Enduring a tough phase of her career, Sindhu lost 12-21 13-21 to Zhang Yi Man of China in her opener that lasted 32 minutes. It was her seventh first round exit in 13 BWF World Tour events this year. Canada Open champion Sen, returning to action after skipping the Korea event, too showed better mental fortitude to survive a scare against compatriot Rajawat, prevailing 21-15 12-21 24-22 in a 65-minute battle. Sen will face Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the second round. Sindhu, the 2019 world champion, has looked a pale shadow

Badminton ranking: Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj attains career-best 2nd spot

The Indian pair displaced the Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang to attain a second spot, gaining a place, in BWF's latest rankings.

Japan Open Badminton: Satwik-Chirag eye season's first Super 750 title

PV Sindhu and her new coach Hafiz Hashim will be under pressure not to bow out in the first round. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will spearhead India's challenge in Japan Open Super 750

Satwik-Chirag scale new heights, beat top seeds to win Korea Open title

Indian Men's Doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat world no. Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in three sets to win the Korea Open 500 title

Korea Open: Satwik-Chirag enter semis, eye 1st Super 500 title this season

The Indians seeded third in the Korea Open Super 500 Badminton tournament, needed only 40 minutes to get the better of their Japanese opponents

BWF Rankings: PV Sindhu at 15, Chirag-Rankireddy at 3 in Men's Doubles

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu slipped three places to drop to the 15th spot in the latest women's singles BWF World rankings issued on Tuesday. Sindhu, who dropped out of the elite top 10 in April this year, now has 51,070 points from 13 tournaments. The 27-year-old, who will be in action at the Canada Open Super 500 this week, has looked off colour this season after returning from a five-month long injury layoff following a stress fracture on her ankle en route her Commonwealth Games gold in August last year. The highlight this season has been a final finish at the Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 and a semifinal at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 for Sindhu, who made early exits from a series of events at the start of the year. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are the top-ranked Indian men's doubles players at world number 3. HS Prannoy, who occupies the 8th spot, is the best ranked Indian in the men's singles while Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth are placed 19th and