Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag advance to China Masters quarters

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered convincing straight-games victories to progress to the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 in Shenzhen on Thursday.

Sindhu needed just 41 minutes to sweep aside Thailand’s world No. 6 Pornpawee Chochuwong, winning 21-15, 21-15. The result not only secured her a place in the last eight but also brought her head-to-head record against the Thai shuttler level at 6-5.

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“I am happy with the win, and it was very important for me from the beginning to be alert and give my 100 per cent,” Sindhu said afterwards.

“She (Chochuwong) is a top player. I played her in the Indonesia Open; that time, it was a hard match. After winning the first game, I was much more alert in the second game. The points were going to be equal, so it was very important for me to stay close to her, as every point counts. I am happy that I am on the winning side, and I gave my best,” she added.

Coming off a first-round exit at the Hong Kong Open last week, Sindhu looked determined to put things right in Shenzhen. “It’s good that if you win the first game, you finish it off in the second game. Straight wins always give you that confidence,” she said. “But you also have to be prepared for long matches and make sure that you are quicker on your feet.”

Sindhu credited her progress to the guidance of India’s women’s singles coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, formerly with Indonesia’s men’s team. “It’s very good (working relationship). He is a very good coach. Initially, when we started, obviously, we knew it will take time. We coordinated and figured out what needs to be done and changed. As a coach, he is giving his best efforts, and as an athlete, it’s my duty also.”

Awaiting Sindhu next is a daunting quarterfinal against world No. 1 An Se Young of Korea, who has beaten her in all seven of their previous meetings, six of them in straight games.

Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, world No. 3 Satwik and Chirag were equally commanding, brushing aside Wang Chi-lin and Chiu Hsiang-chieh of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 21-12 in only 33 minutes. Their win sets up a last-eight clash against home favourites Ren Xiang Yu and Xie Haonan.

“It was a really good win,” Chirag said. “Obviously, Wang Chunlin has been a really experienced player with two Olympic golds, so it’s always tough playing against him. But really happy that we could win that comfortably. They took us to three games last week in Hong Kong, where we completed the job in two days’ time and just under 35 minutes. I think it was all about confidence this time.”

Looking ahead to their next opponents, Satwik noted the recurring theme of left-right combinations. “In the Hong Kong Open, we played first round left-right, then second round lefty-righty, then the quarter-finals lefty-righty, and the semis also lefty-righty. Here again, yesterday lefty-righty, today also lefty-righty. We’ve never played this many lefty-righties. But yeah, Chinese pairs come up with good strokes, and obviously, the crowd will be there. But we love playing against the Chinese, we have that rivalry.”

He also acknowledged Shenzhen’s significance for the pair. “Maybe Shenzhen is special for us. We wanted to make it more special. We came up runner-up in the semi-finals before, but this time we wanted to see if we could reach the podium again, but not as a runner-up.”