Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty quits Syed Modi International Club

Lucknow:

Star Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty withdrew from the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 duo, who were considered favorites to win the men’s doubles title, were suspended from the competition after the Olympics in Paris due to Satwik’s shoulder injury. Last week they returned to the China Masters Super 750 tournament, where they reached the semi-finals. However, B Sumit Reddy, who coached the Indian pair ahead of the China Masters and also attended their matches, said Satwik was facing “difficulties” in making a full recovery.

“Sathvik has just returned from injury. They play after a long time. They had a very busy week in Shenzhen where they reached the semi-finals. Sometimes it is difficult to fully recover, so it is in the best interest to be mindful of your body and for the upcoming season, they have decided to opt out,” Reddy told PTI.

The top seeds were selected to play Chen Xu Jun and Guo Ruo Han in the first round, but this gave the Chinese pair an advantage.

India’s Mansi Singh, Tanvi Sharma and Navya Kanderi and China’s Han Qianxi qualified for the women’s singles main draw.

Uttar Pradesh’s Mansi secured her place in the women’s singles main draw after defeating Praisha Bonam 21-11, 22-24, 21-12 in qualifying. She will now face Thailand’s fourth seed Pornpichey Choyikwong in the first round.

In the men’s singles, Siddharth Pratap Singh (India), Sanit Dayanand, RS Sanjeev Kumar and Shule Aidil (Malaysia) also secured places in the main draw.

In the women’s doubles, Indian pairs Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma and Kanika Kanwal and Bharti Pal, as well as Chinese pairs Keng Shu Liang and Wang Ting Ji and Li Hua Zhou and Wang Ting Ji, successfully entered the main draw.

India’s Yash Raikwar and T Khem Nagendra Babu, Viplav Kuvale and Viraj Kuvale, as well as China’s Chen Zhu Jun and Guo Rohan and Thailand’s Faranju Kaosamang and Thandarn P also qualified for the men’s doubles main draw.

In mixed doubles, Indian pairs Ram Bhargav Arigela and Vennala Kalagotla, Ganesh Vittal Ji and Shivani Santosh Singh and T Hem Nagendra Babu and Kanika Kanwal also secured their places in the main draw.