Not an easy day for Indian badminton fans as the home BWF World Championships campaign was cut down to just two doubles pairs in the quarter-finals, with Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty keeping India’s hopes alive.
Fan favourite PV Sindhu and giant-killer Ayush Shetty bowed out in the singles round of 16, while the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also saw their campaign come to an end on Thursday.
Satwik-Chirag brings home crowd back to life
The highlight of the day was stored for the last Indian contest, when two-time World Championships bronze medallists Satwik and Chirag, playing their first match of the competition, produced a superb come-from-behind 21-23, 21-19, 21-17 victory against Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King.
The Asian Games silver medallists were pushed hard by their Malaysian opponents but held their nerve in a tense three-game contest. After dropping the opening game, Satwik and Chirag fought back to level the match before completing the comeback in the decider.
The first game belonged to the Malaysian duo, who kept the Indians under pressure and took it beyond game point before finishing 23-21.
The second game looked different, with the Indian duo taking the first two points and building on that towards the break, where they led 11-8. The Malaysians pushed back in the dying stages and levelled the game at 19-all, but Satwik and Chirag absorbed the pressure and took the next two points to win 21-19.
The decider followed a similar pattern, with the Indians attacking from the start to take a 2-0 lead. It was a see-saw battle after that, with both pairs staying within touching distance of each other. The game moved towards an interesting finish at 17-all, but the Indian duo was in a hurry to wrap things up, taking the next four points to seal the match.
The comeback was even more significant for the Indian pair as it was their first competitive match in almost three months. They had been watching the other Indians play and getting a feel for the court, but the opening few rallies were still important as they settled back into competition.
Satwik and Chirag admitted they were not at their best after losing the opening game, but they had been in similar situations before. Instead of complicating things, the focus was on getting the shuttle back into play, finding their rhythm and giving themselves a chance to fight their way back.
That approach worked, and the packed stadium erupted as Satwik and Chirag completed the comeback, giving the home crowd the redemption it had been waiting for after the singles exits.
In the quarter-finals, Satwik and Chirag will face third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang of China on Friday. The Indian pair has faced the Chinese combination several times before, but the focus will be on themselves, recovering well and preparing tactically rather than thinking too much about the rivalry.
Sindhu, Ayush heartbreak ends India’s singles challenge
Meanwhile, five-time World Championships medallist Sindhu’s bid for a record sixth medal ended after she went down fighting against world No. 3 Wang Zhi Yi of China.
The 2019 world champion lost 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 in an 88-minute contest that swung back and forth before the third-seeded Chinese shuttler held her nerve in the closing stages.
Wang looked in control for most of the opening game, taking an early lead and eventually closing it out 21-11.
The packed stadium, which had turned up to cheer the Indian star, refused to let Sindhu drop her head. She made a strong start to the second game, taking the first three points and putting Wang under pressure.
Wang fought back to reduce the gap, but Sindhu still held a three-point advantage at 11-8 at the interval.
After the change of ends, Wang took two consecutive points to bring the game closer. The two players eventually reached 15-all, with the deafening crowd continuing to cheer for Sindhu and putting pressure on Wang.
Sindhu did not let the game slip there. She produced a strong finish, taking six consecutive points to close out the game 21-15, with the cheers growing louder and louder for the veteran.
The third game again saw Sindhu make the better start, but Wang kept finding her way back into the contest. Sindhu led 13-10 before Wang cut the gap again, and the match reached 16-all in an increasingly intense battle.
Wang then briefly went down while trying to reach a shot and took a medical timeout. Sindhu later said she was not sure whether Wang was dealing with an injury or cramps, but felt she had to stay focused and patient and take the match one point at a time.
The match remained close until the closing stages, but Wang managed the crucial points better. Sindhu felt she could have done more in the final three or four points, identifying those moments as where the match slipped away from her, as Wang closed out the decider 21-17.
For Sindhu, the defeat was disappointing, but she was already looking at what she could take from the match. With the Asian Games coming up, the Indian said she would sit down with her coach and work on the areas that need improvement, including her strokes and the mental side of her game.
Earlier, Ayush Shetty’s impressive run also came to an end as Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan beat him 21-19, 21-11.
The opening game was closely fought, with the two shuttlers going almost neck-and-neck. Farhan led 11-9 at the interval, but Ayush continued to stay in the contest.
The Indonesian’s attacking game, particularly his smashes, made things difficult for the giant-killer. Ayush then produced a superb fightback, overturning an 18-14 deficit with five consecutive points to move 19-18 ahead.
Farhan, however, regained his composure and took the next three points to win the opening game 21-19.
In the second set, Ayush again found himself trailing in the first half of the second game, with Farhan leading 11-6 at the interval.
The Indonesian continued to attack and built a 16-7 lead, leaving Ayush with a difficult task. Farhan eventually closed out the second game 21-11 to end the Indian’s run.
Ayush felt “he had his chances in the match but could not execute his shots” with the same sharpness, particularly with his accuracy. Farhan’s attacking game also made things difficult, with Ayush admitting that he was not giving enough length and was allowing the Indonesian to attack him with body smashes.
Farhan was simply sharper on the day, Ayush felt, and was well prepared for the Indian’s attempts to change the pace of the rallies.
The defeat was a tough one for Ayush to digest, but the 21-year-old said there was plenty to take away from his first World Championships. He also felt the home setting was not an added pressure, saying he had been enjoying the occasion but was disappointed that he could not produce his best badminton.
Ayush had earlier stunned world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the opening round, making his run one of the biggest talking points of India’s campaign.
Treesa-Gayatri keep India’s doubles hopes alive
Earlier in the day, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their impressive run, taking down seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan 21-16, 21-12 to book their place in the quarter-finals. The duo will face Chinese pair Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian in the quarter-finals, with a win assuring them a World Championships medal.
In mixed doubles, however, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto’s campaign came to an end after the 15th seeds were beaten 21-16, 21-5 by sixth seeds Chen Fang Hui and Guo Xin Wa of China.
The Indian pair struggled to find their rhythm against the Chinese combination, who pulled away in the second game to seal a comfortable straight-game victory.