PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj-Chirag duo make it to Indonesia Open semis; Sai Praneeth crashes out

PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept the Indian challenge alive by reaching the Indonesia Open semi-finals in Bali on Friday.

Meanwhile, B Sai Praneeth crashed out in the men's singles quarter-finals, losing to second seed and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. World No 2 Axelsen of Denmark won 21-12, 21-8 in 36 minutes, his fifth victory over the Indian world No 16.

Both Sindhu and Satwiksairaj-Chirag notched up hard-fought quarter-final victories over their respective opponents at the World Tour Super 1000 tournament.

Sindhu rallies to beat Korea’s Sim Yujin

Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu fought back from a game down to defeat Sim Yujin of Korea 14-21, 21-19, 21-14. Third seed Sindhu had to dig deep to get the better of 22-year-old Yujin in a marathon encounter that lasted 66 minutes.

Yujin, who shocked sixth seed Michelle Li of Canada in the first round, was on course for another upset after taking the opening game against reigning world champion Sindhu.

However, the ace Indian upped her performance and displayed better accuracy to clinch the second game narrowly at 21-19.

Sindhu raced to a 11-4 lead in the decider, but the Korean won seven points on the trot to level at 11. Sindhu drew from her wealth of experience to win the big points and close out the contest.

Sindhu will take on Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the semi-finals on Saturday. Former world champion Intanon beat Japan's Asuka Takahashi in another quarter-final.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty beat Malaysian pair

Sixth seeds Satwik and Chirag downed Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia 21-19, 21-19 in a battle which lasted 43 minutes.

The Indian duo will next meet top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia.

Indian results (Quarter-finals)

Men’s singles

B Sai Praneeth lost to 2-Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) 21-12, 21-8 (36 minutes)

Women’s singles

3-PV Sindhu bt Sim Yujin (Korea) 14-21, 21-19, 21-14 (66 minutes)

Men’s doubles

6-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (Malaysia) 21-19, 21-19 (43 minutes).

Semi-final line-up

Women’s singles

3-PV Sindhu vs 2-Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)

Men’s doubles

6-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty vs 1-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia).