Satwik-Chirag aim comeback at China Open

Changzhou

India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are ready to compete at the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament starting Tuesday (today). This is their last big test before the World Championships in Paris from August 25 to 31.

Currently ranked world No. 15, the pair made three semifinals this year but struggled due to Satwik’s health and Chirag’s back injury. They returned strong, reaching the Singapore Open semifinal and Indonesia Open quarterfinal. However, they lost to China's Olympic medallists in Japan last week.

Satwik and Chirag now face Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura in their opener. In singles, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu are also looking to regain form.

Lakshya faces China’s Li Shi Feng, while Prannoy plays Japan’s Koki Watanabe. Sindhu, who’s had five first-round exits this year, meets Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki.

Unnati Hooda, Anupama Upadhyaya, and several Indian women’s and mixed doubles pairs will also compete in the USD 2 million event.