Sikki-Pranaav's victory over loss; makes mark at Japan Open Super Series

Pranaav and Sikki marked their victory by reaching semifinals in their first ever super series match at Japan Open. Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra went down to Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hitora after an inspiring fight with 21-14, 15-21, 19-21 despite saving a match point towards the end.

The duo started the game with the winning spirit, dominating the Japanese pair with an early lead of 4-3. After the intense and long rallies, the Indian pair gets 2 point lead at 7-5. The Japanese levelled the Indians at 9-9 before India’s top mixed doubles pair had two point advantage of 11-9 at the break. By extending the lead, Sikki and Chopra reached 18-13 after Japanese made the duo to sniff towards the bird to return; bagging the first game with 21-14 by six game points.

Second game was not very lucky for the Indian pair as the Japanese rebounded with an early lead with a huge gap of 4 points at 5-1. The Japanese duo gave no chance to think, making the Indians clueless and got better with their intense returns. It’s Japanese at the break with 11-7, before the Indians tried making their comeback with the trail of 14-16. And, that’s the wrap by the Japanese at 21-15 with an ease.

In the decider, the Indians kick-started the game leading 3-1. Both the teams managed to catch up their opponents now and then avoiding the gap till 8-8, before the Japanese taking the lead at the break with 11-9. After the left-right combination pair grabbed the long rally, they trailed at 15-17 looking confident and focused towards the match point. Sikki and Chopra gave a tough fight to the Japanese till the last points, and lost the amazing opportunity to progress into the finals. Despite the much closer deciding game, the Japanese powered their way to win at 21-19.

It is the victory of the Indian mixed doubles pair, to be noticed, even though they ended with a loss today. The duo’s journey in the Japan Open is indeed an inspiring and a positive sign for the Indian doubles badminton.