Hong Kong Open: Satwik-Chirag advance to round of 16; Kiran George enters main draw

Hong Kong, Sep 9 (IANS) India’s campaign at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 got off to a bright start on Tuesday, with men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty recording a fighting win and singles player Kiran George making his way into the main draw after clearing qualifying rounds.

Satwik and Chirag, the world No. 8 pair and eighth seeds in the tournament, looked sharp in their first-round clash against Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin. The Indian duo raced through the opening game 21-13 with commanding play at the net and their trademark booming smashes. However, the Taiwanese pair regrouped in the second game, pushing Satwik-Chirag into longer rallies and forcing errors to take it 21-18 and level the match.

In the decider, the Indians rediscovered their rhythm. Combining quick interceptions with relentless attacking play, they regained complete control to close out the contest 21-10. Fresh from winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris last month – their second at the marquee event – the pair will now face either Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi/Hiroki Okamura or Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul in the second round.

Meanwhile, Kiran George ensured an Indian presence in the men’s singles main draw after two clinical performances in qualifying. The world No. 38 brushed aside Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei 21-14, 21-13 before defeating compatriot S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian 21-18, 21-14 in a confident display. Sankar himself had impressed earlier, storming past England’s Wang Yue Hang 21-10, 21-5 in the opening qualifying round. Kiran will now face Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh in his main-draw opener.

The day also saw a dramatic result in qualifying as 20-year-old Tharun Mannepalli stunned former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth 28-26, 21-13 in the first round. However, Tharun could not extend his dream run, falling to Malaysia’s fourth seed Justin Hoh 21-23, 13-21, 18-21 in his next outing.

--IANS

hs/ab