Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a triumphant start to the French Open Super 750 tournament in Paris, securing a hard-fought victory over Malaysian duo Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi. The world no. 1 Indian pair, who won the title in 2022, displayed their dominance in the opening round, outplaying their world no. 12 opponents 21-13, 24-22 in a thrilling 47-minute encounter.
Satwik and Chirag, who have finished second in their last three tournaments, will face another Malaysian pair, Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee, in the next round.
In other Indian action, World Championships bronze medalist Lakshya Sen overcame a slow start to defeat Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama 15-21, 21-15, 21-3 in his opening match. The unseeded Indian will now face third seed Li Shen Feng in the pre-quarterfinals.
Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also advanced to the second round in women’s doubles, defeating Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in an all-Indian clash. The two pairs are vying for qualification for the Paris Olympics, with Tanisha-Ashwini ranked 11th and Treesa-Gayatri at 14th in the Olympic Games qualification ranking.
Treesa and Gayatri have been in impressive form, playing a crucial role in the Indian women’s team’s historic victory at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia last month.
However, it was a disappointing day for Priyanshu Rajawat, who suffered a 8-21, 15-21 defeat to reigning Olympic champion and top seed Victor Axelsen.
