The All England Open 2024 has been a platform for some exceptional performances from Indian shuttlers, with the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and singles player Lakshya Sen making their mark in the tournament with dominating wins in the first round.
Satwi-Chirag continue their good form at All England Open 2024
The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started their campaign impressively by defeating three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia in straight sets with scores of 21-18, 21-14.
The duo, which is the World No. 1 pair in doubles and seeded fourth at the BWF Super 1000 tournament, will face Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana, also from Indonesia, in the second round.
Fresh off their recent triumph at the French Open 2024, Satwik and Chirag continued their winning streak with a commanding victory over the top-seeded Indonesian pair. With the unexpected elimination of reigning men’s doubles world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-Jae in the initial round, Satwik and Chirag are poised to script history by becoming the first Indian doubles pair to clinch the coveted All England Open title.
On the other hand, Lakshya Sen displayed good form in his first-round match against Magnus Johannesen from Denmark, winning comfortably with scores of 21-14, 21-14. He will now face another Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen in the second round. Fresh from his semifinal appearance at the French Open last week, where he faced defeat against reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Sen is now gearing up to take on another formidable opponent.
In the women’s category, already Indian star shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the second round after her first-round opponent, Germany’s Yvonne Li, retired mid-match. She will face An Se-young in the next round.
Tanisha Castro and Ashwini Ponnappa, the Indian women’s doubles pair secured a victory against Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong China with scores of 21-13, 21-18. The pair will play against Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu from China in the pre-quarterfinals.
However, it was a disappointing end for Priyanshu Rajawat and the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda, as they bowed out of the tournament.
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