Birmingham [UK], March 17 (ANI): Indian men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on Wednesday progressed to the second round of the All England Open.
The Indian duo comfortably defeated the inexperienced pair of England’s Nikhar Garg and India’s Aniruddha Mayekar 21-7, 21-10 in just 19 minutes. It was an easy clash for Shetty and Rankireddy which will boost their morale in the competition.
Women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also cruised to the next round after beating Thailand’s Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard in straight games. The Indian duo outplayed their opponents and clinched the clash 21-14, 21-12 in just 30 minutes.
Earlier, shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap bowed out of the men’s singles event after losing their respective first-round matches.
Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen defeated Srikanth 21-11, 15-21, 21-12 in the first round while world number one Kento Momota defeated Kashyap in straight games 21-13, 22-20 in another first-round match.
Earlier in the day, Indian shuttlers were cleared to take part in the All England Open Badminton Championships 2021, after the players returned negative tests for coronavirus. India’s badminton coach Mathias Boe, on his Instagram story, confirmed that there were no positive tests in the Indian contingent and the shutters were ready to take the field.
Three Indian shuttlers and one member of support staff had earlier tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the tournament, Badminton Association of India (BAI) Secretary Ajay Singhania had informed. (ANI)
