Hong Kong : Match Highlights
India’s dynamic men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kickstarted their Hong Kong Open Super 500 campaign with a hard-fought victory over Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin. Fresh off their World Championships bronze in Paris, Satwik-Chirag showed both aggression and resilience across three sets, winning 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 to enter the round of 16.
The Indian duo dominated the net and unleashed powerful smashes in the opening game, but the Taiwanese pair regrouped in the second, forcing Satwik-Chirag into longer rallies and errors. In the decisive third, the Indians rediscovered their rhythm, breaking free with confident net play and attacking combinations to seal the win.
Satwik-Chirag, seeded eighth, will next face the winner between Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi/Hiroki Okamura and Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Singles Qualifiers: Kiran George’s Rise
World No.38 Kiran George ensured Indian presence in the men’s singles draw with two clinical qualifying wins. He dispatched Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei 21-14, 21-13 and followed up by beating compatriot S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian 21-18, 21-14, securing his main draw spot.
Sankar himself had started well, thrashing England’s Wang Yue Hang 21-10, 21-5 in the opening round. Kiran will now face Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh in his first main-draw contest.
Qualifying Drama: Tharun Mannepalli Shocks Srikanth
A major upset marked the day in qualifying as 20-year-old Tharun Mannepalli stunned former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth 28-26, 21-13. However, Tharun’s run ended next round, losing 21-23, 13-21, 18-21 to Malaysia’s fourth seed Justin Hoh.
Looking Ahead
Indian Olympic stars Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu are set to launch their campaigns on Wednesday, continuing the country’s strong tradition at the Hong Kong Open, where only two Indians have lifted the singles crown: Prakash Padukone (1982) and Saina Nehwal (2010).
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