China Masters: Satwik/Chirag, Srikanth Keep Indian Hopes Alive; Sen Goes Down In Last-32 (Ld)

China Masters: Satwik/Chirag, Srikanth keep Indian hopes alive; Sen goes down in last-32 (Ld) (Satwik/Chirag, Srikanth keep Indian hopes alive; Sen goes down in last-32 stage of China Masters in Shenzhen on Wednesday. Photo credit: Badminton Photo/BWF)

Though Chi Yu Jen: Singles star Kidambi Srikanth and top men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept the Indian hopes alive in the BWF China Masters even as Lakshya Sen made his exit in the Round of 32 stage matches at the Shenzhen Arena on Wednesday.

Srikanth, a former World Championship runner-up, defeated Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei in straight games in a men's singles Round of 32 match, winning 21-18, 21-15 in a 35-minute encounter on Court 2 at Shenzhen Arena.

In the men's doubles, fourth seeds Rankireddy and Shetty joined him in the pre-quarterfinals by getting past the Malaysian pair of Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing, winning 21-11, 21-16 in 40 minutes on Court 1.

World No. 20 Tanvi Sharma also advanced to the next stage in the women's singles second round by beating Amalie Schulz of Denmark 21-16, 21-17 in 31 minutes.

India had a mixed day in the mixed doubles section, as Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto reached the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-8, 21-9 win over Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrug Saeheng of Thailand in 24 minutes.

The contingent suffered a setback in the mixed doubles as Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost to the Chinese Taipei pair of Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin, 21-16, 21-18 in 34 minutes.

In the women's singles, Devika Sihag went down to Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria in the Round of 32 clash on Court 3, losing 21-18, 21-15 in the USD 1,250,000 event.

In the men's singles, Srikanth surged to an early 7-1 lead and kept up the pressure as he won points to extend the lead to 12-3. Though Chi Yu Jen narrowed the gap to 13-8, Srikanth maintained his upper hand to win the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth took an early lead, but Chi levelled up at 4-4. The Chinese Taipei player went ahead 8-6. Srikanth then won four points in a row, then went on to take a 16-11 lead and went on to win the game and match at 21-15.

Earlier, Lakshya Sen’s China Masters campaign came to an early end on Wednesday as the Indian shuttler went down to Canada’s Victor Lai in straight games in the round of 32.

Sen suffered a 14-21, 7-21 straight-games loss at the hands of the 2026 World Championships bronze medallist here at the Shenzhen Arena. This was the Indian's third loss to the Canadian in the pair's fourth career meeting.

Moreover, this was Lai's third win over Sen this year. The Canadian got the better of the Indian at the Thomas Cup and in the round of 16 of the China Open in July. Sen's only win over Lai was a gruelling three-game All England Open semifinal in March that Sen won 21-16, 18-21, 21-15.

Sen suffered a 14-21, 7-21 straight-games loss at the hands of the 2026 World Championships bronze medallist here at the Shenzhen Arena. This was the Indian's third loss to the Canadian in the pair's fourth career meeting.

However, Kiran George lost the three-game battle 15-21, 23-21, 10-21 to Shogo Ogawa of Japan.

Article Source: IANS