Satwik and Chirag, the world No. 8 pair and eighth seeds in the tournament, looked sharp in their first-round clash against Taiwan\u2019s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin. The Indian duo raced through the opening game 21-13 with commanding play at the net and their trademark booming smashes. However, the Taiwanese pair regrouped in the second game, pushing Satwik-Chirag into longer rallies and forcing errors to take it 21-18 and level the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the decider, the Indians rediscovered their rhythm. Combining quick interceptions with relentless attacking play, they regained complete control to close out the contest 21-10. Fresh from winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris last month \u2013 their second at the marquee event \u2013 the pair will now face either Japan\u2019s Kenya Mitsuhashi\/Hiroki Okamura or Thailand\u2019s Peeratchai Sukphun\/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul in the second round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Satwik and Chirag, the world No. 8 pair and eighth seeds in the tournament, looked sharp in their first-round clash against Taiwan\u2019s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin. The Indian duo raced through the opening game 21-13 with commanding play at the net and their trademark booming smashes. However, the Taiwanese pair regrouped in the second game, pushing Satwik-Chirag into longer rallies and forcing errors to take it 21-18 and level the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The day also saw a dramatic result in qualifying as 20-year-old Tharun Mannepalli stunned former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth 28-26, 21-13 in the first round. However, Tharun could not extend his dream run, falling to Malaysia\u2019s fourth seed Justin Hoh 21-23, 13-21, 18-21 in his next outing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n