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Sindhu & Saina, Satwik & Chirag turn up in style on Day 3 of French Open 2019

By: Editor
Date: 24 Oct, 2019
Image Courtesy: GoBadminton
PV Sindhu led from the front as Saina Nehwal & the doubles pair of Satwik/Chirag sought turned in some sensational performances on Day 3 of the French Open 2019, as they all advanced into the QFs of the Super 750 tournament in Paris.

Saina Nehwal was first of the blocks with a commanding performance in the R16 match-up against Danish player Line Kjaersfeldt. The 2012 Olympic Bronze Medallist raced off the starting line to open-up a 10-3 advantage and there was hardly any looking back from that point. The second game was just a bit more competitive, at least until 8-6 in Saina’s favour. Nehwal broke away to take 10 of the next 12 games, and it was as good as curtains for Line. 

Saina seemed to have hardly broken any sweat enroute to her 21-10 21-11 victory in just 27 minutes on court. 

PV Sindhu was on the show court for her early evening clash against Hyderabad Open champion Yeo Jia Min. But clearly the difference in class & experience was evident from the word go, as the young Singaporean struggled against the world champion. Sindhu raced into 6-0 lead and there was no looking back.

The second game followed a similar trajectory, only this time Sindhu had a bigger lead at the beginning 7-0, and it was a few unforced errors that lent a bit of respectability to the score line. A 21-10 21-13, for PV Sindhu sealed her QF berth where she is will take on Tai Tzu Ying, who defeated South Korean Kim Ga Eun 21-17 21-17.

Whilst Sindhu was walking all over her opponent on the TV court, it was quite the battle unfolding on Court #4 – where Satwik Sairaj & Chirag Shetty were fighting it out with Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan. Despite having led for most of the opening game, Satwik/Chirag surrendered five straight points to surrender the advantage at the business end. And just when it looked like they had lost the initiative, they came storming back to take 5 of the final 6 points contested to wrest the advantage.

Ahsan/Setiawan, seeded second here in Paris are no pushovers and rightly came back in the second game, leading from the start to finish as they levelled off the match at one-game apiece. 

The third game was expected to be a nail-biter, but after a testy few points Satwik/Chirag just ran away with the game. At point they led16-5 and it was almost curtains for the Indonesians. And despite a late flourish, the Indian duo made it to the semi-finals with a 21-18 18-21 21-13 win.

Shubankar Dey was the last of the Indians to take to the court on the day but couldn’t quite make an impression against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia. Dey lost in straight games 21-6 21-13 in exactly half hour. This concludes the Indian challenge in the men’s singles, as well as the women’s & mixed doubles that ended earlier.

Elsewhere in the competition, Viktor Axelsen won a titanic contest against Kanta Tsuneyama; while Anton Andersen overcame a stiff resistance from Kenta Nishimoto. While, Olympic Gold Medalist Carolina Marin defeated Nozomi Okuhara in a thoroughly entertaining tie.

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