NEW DELHI: It was an impressive start for Indian shuttlers at the ongoing Indonesia Open 2023, with Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy leading the way in the men's doubles category.
The Indian pair secured a spot in the Round of 16 in Jakarta after their French opponents, Christo and Toma Junior Popov, retired due to Christo's knee injury. The Indian duo had a commanding lead of 21-12, 11-7 at the time of the retirement.
However, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila faced disappointment as they were eliminated from the tournament after a hard-fought battle against Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.
The Indian pair put up a good fight but ultimately succumbed to a 21-12, 6-21, 20-22 defeat. Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, ranked seventh in the world and former world championship medallists, proved to be formidable opponents.
In the women's doubles category, the Indian duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a defeat in their opening match of the tournament.
They lost a closely contested match with a scoreline of 22-20, 12-21, 16-21 against Japan's Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. This loss marked Jolly and Gopichand's fourth consecutive first-round exit in BWF World Tour tournaments this season.
On a brighter note, Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy had successful outings in the women's and men's singles events, respectively.
Sindhu, an Olympic medallist and former world champion, ended her two-match losing streak against Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung with a convincing straight-game victory of 21-19, 21-15.
Sindhu's next challenge in the second round will be the defending champion and world No. 3, Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.
In the men's singles category, HS Prannoy, ranked eighth in the world, displayed his prowess with a commanding 21-16, 21-14 win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto, who is ranked 11th in the world.
Prannoy's next opponent in the Round of 16 will be Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long, ranked 16th in the world, following his surprising victory over two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan in the first round.
