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Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth stormed into the semifinals of the 2021 Swiss Open with commanding performances in Basel on Friday. Men's doubles second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also reached the last four with a hard-fought victory.
The second-seeded Sindhu held off a late surge from the fifth-seeded Busanan Ongbamrungphan for a 21-16, 23-21 win in 59 minutes. The 2015 Swiss Open champion Srikanth notched up a dominating 21-19, 21-15 victory over the sixth seed Kantaphon Wangcharoen to march into the semis.
For the third consecutive day, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were stretched to the decider at the 2021 Swiss Open. The 2019 Thailand Open champions were completely outplayed by the fifth seeds Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in the first game before they rebounded for a 12-21, 21-19, 21-12 win.
Sindhu and Srikanth exact revenge at Swiss Open
Both Sindhu and Srikanth had lost to their respective opponents in their previous meetings. But a reversal in fortunes at the Swiss Open could work wonders for the duo as they seek their first title of the year.
Sindhu, the Rio Olympic silver medallist, had gone down to the World No. 13 Ongbamrungphan at the Toyota Thailand Open in January. This time she came better prepared and bagged the first game too much hassle.
It was in the second game that the world champion had to dig deep, was as her opponent levelled proceedings at 18-18. The game headed to a thrilling finish, with Busanan saving a match point and even held a match point herself at 21-20. Sindhu was, however, able to raise her level and bag the next two points to secure the win.
Up next for the Indian at the 2021 Swiss Open is the fourth seed Mia Blichfeldt, who pummelled Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan 21-10, 21-7.
Kidambi Srikanth, too had lost his last showdown with Kantaphon Wangcharoen at the BWF World Championships in 2019.
But it was a much better performance from the former world no. 1 against the same opponent at the 2021 Swiss Open. After edging the Thai in a close opening game, Srikanth briefly trailed Wangcharoen 8-10 in the second game. The two were level till 14-14 before the Indian pulled away to secure the win.
Srikanth next takes on the top seed Viktor Axelsen in a repeat of the pair's 2015 final clash, which the Indian had won in three games.
Sai Praneeth, Ajay Jayaram, Satwik-Ashwini bow out of the Swiss Open
Earlier in the day, fifth seed Sai Praneeth's campaign was cut short by second seed Lee Zii Jia. The Malaysian never relented and ran out a 21-14, 21-17 winner in 45 minutes.
A day after toppling the third seed Rasmus Gemke, Ajay Jayaram failed to repeat his heroics. The former world no. 13 was blown away by the three-time world junior champion and eighth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn 9-21, 6-21.
In mixed doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa put up a gritty fight against the fifth seeds Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing but ultimately fell short.
Ponnappa and Rankireddy had come into the Swiss Open on the back of a semifinal appearance at the Toyota Thailand Open and were looking to continue their stellar run. After losing the opening game against the fifth seeds, the Indian pair made a superb comeback in the second only to suffer a narrow 17-21, 21-16, 18-21 defeat to bow out of the competition.
