Singapore: India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stayed on course for their maiden title of the season, storming into the Singapore Open semifinals with a straight-game win over world No. 1 Malaysian duo of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin here on Friday.Making a comeback after battling fitness issues for the last few weeks, the Indian pair displayed rock-solid defence and controlled the front court with precision to register a 21-17, 21-15 win in a 39-minute quarterfinal clash at the Super 750 badminton tournament.This is their third semifinal appearance of the season, having reached the last-four stage at both the Malaysia and India Open earlier this year.The former world No.1 Indians held a 6-2 head-to-head record against the Malaysians going into the match, although they had lost their most recent meeting at the India Open.The match began with two service faults in the first four points and featured short rallies as both pairs looked to execute angled returns and attack at the earliest opportunity.As a result, the score moved evenly from 1-1 to 7-7 before the Indians gained a three-point cushion at the interval, with Satwik dictating the serve and third shot.The Indian pair maintained the pressure to go up 15-11 before Satwik committed a service error and Izzuddin unleashed a jump smash to narrow the gap to 13-15.A brutal forehand smash from Satwik pushed India ahead at 18-15. Izzuddin then hit one wide, and Chirag, who had earlier sent a shot long, redeemed himself with a straight smash to earn three game points.Goh buried a service return into the net, handing the Indians the opening game and the early advantage.Chirag made a few errors early in the second game, but the Indians did well to keep pace in the high-speed exchanges, with the score level at 6-6.Satwik and Chirag then reeled off four consecutive points before an unforced error halted their momentum. A body blow from Chirag forced a weak return from Izzuddin into the net, giving India a four-point lead at the interval.A sharp backhand at the net took the Indians to 15-9 after the break. Satwik then sent down a thunderous smash to make it 16-10.Though the Indians committed a few unforced errors, Satwik produced another fierce return to earn five match points. They sealed the win after another error from their opponents.
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