Singapore Open: Lakshya troubled by back issues, Satwik-Chirag return with solid win & Aakarshi, Unnati nick one set off Chinese top names

“Lakshya had to retire from his Singapore Open match due to lower back pain and spasm,” father DK Sen told The Indian Express adding it was a recurring problem. “He had similar issues during practice last Saturday. Despite trying his best, he wasn’t fully fit. We’ll focus on his recovery now,” he added.

FILE: Lakshya Sen in action. (PHOTO: Badminton Association of India)

Meanwhile it was a solid and steady return from back issues for Chirag Shetty – who had wisely taken time off to tend to his problems, not risking aggravation till he felt upto it. Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, easily India’s most consistent performers over last few years won 21-16, 21-13 against Malaysian Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Muhammad.

The Indian pair will need to battle Indonesian World No 8 pair Sabar Gutama and Moh Reza Isfahani (29/26), in what can be a tricky second round. Having dropped to World No 27, the Indians have a lot of catching up to do but are under no pressure and will prioritise staying fit and healthy first.

The Indonesians operating at a bruising pace, were barely in Top 30 same time last year, but have gone as high as No 7 this month. They are second amongst 3 Indonesian pairs in Top 10.

They created a stir at the All England getting rid of Chinese Liang-Wang and drubbing another Chinese pair of Hyang-Liu next round. They were a handful against Chinese He-Ren at the World Tour Finals last year, and topped Aaron-Soh in the flat game too.

It was also a good result for Ruthvika Gadde and Rohan Kapoor who won 21-16, 21-19 against Australians Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett.

Indian mixed doubles pair of Ruthvika Gadde and Rohan Kapoor in action. (BWF/Badminton Photo)

The tiny takeaways in singles from a pair of losses were when 17-year-old teen Unnati Hooda nicked a set off Malaysia Masters champ and China’s heir apparent Wang Zhi Yi, 25, who is ranked World No 2. Wang strangely flatlined after leading 13-8, and Unnati made the most of the helpful side of the drifty arena to race to take the opener 21-13. Wang, the All England finalist, saw to it that her game remained unbreachable thereafter, winning 13-21, 21-9, 21-15 in 56 minutes.

The defiance against Chinese began actually with journeywoman Aakarshi Kashyap staying pugnacious in the opener against third seed and World No 4 Han Yue, matching her in rallies to take the opener 21-17. Though written off routinely, Aakarshi is only 23 and remains determined to make a mark despite her short stature and limited game.

Her fighting skills are never in doubt, and she stayed in the hunt till 9-9 after which the Chinese Malaysia finalist swatted her aside to win 17-21, 21-13, 21-7 in 58 minutes. Like Unnati, Aakarshi showed the skill to steal points from her slightly tired opponent who was playing a final on Sunday. But the Indian duo could not press the advantage once the top Chinese found their radar and lost defensive shape as soon as the opponents hit the second gear.

Anupama Upadhyaya could not dent the tall Sung Shuo Yun and lost 21-16, 21-12 to the Taiwanese ranked No 19.