The Indian badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, on Tuesday, topped the men’s doubles Group C with a convincing 21-13, 21-13 win over Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Adrianto at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The third-seeded Indians took their time to settle in but once they got into their rhythm they played possibly one the most flawless matches in their career.
It was a fast-paced contest with flat, shorter rallies and Rankireddy-Shetty controlled the net rather comfortably. There was nothing Alfian and Adrianto could do as the Indians strategically tackled them.
Rankireddy’s booming smashes were absent from the match as the Indian pair chose to focus their winners towards the net and it gave them the desired result.
“Really happy with the way we played,” said Shetty after the win. “Coming into the Olympics, more than topping the group, we really wanted to get this win.
“It really boosts our confidence that we could win against Fajar and Adrianto, they are a top pair and we have always had some tough battles against them,” he added.
Rankireddy and Shetty have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Their road ahead for the knockout stages will be decided on the basis of a fresh draw on Wednesday.
Later in the day, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto fell to a third successive defeat in Paris.
They went down 15-21, 10-21 in straight games to Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu in a contest which lasted 38 minutes.
It brought an end to a disappointing campaign for Ponnappa and Crasto, who bow out from the competition without a single win against their name.