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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lead India at Japan Open Super 750, aiming to end their title drought.
Satwik-Chirag exited from the semifinals of the Singapore Open (Picture credit: Badminton Photo)
Star Indian men’s doubles shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will aim to extend their consistent performance on tour and end their title drought as they lead the country’s challenge at the Japan Open Super 750 beginning Tuesday.
Ranked world No. 15, Satwik-Chirag have reached three semifinals this season and made the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Open in June. After the semifinal finishes at the Malaysia and India Open in January, Satwik-Chirag missed multiple weeks because of the former’s health problems and Chirag’s lingering back injury.
Now fit, the duo reached the semifinals at the Singapore Open and the quarterfinals in Indonesia. Satwik-Chirag will commence their campaign against Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju.
In singles, Lakshya Sen and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will aim to regain form at the USD 950,000 event.
Lakshya has struggled this season with multiple first-round exits, his best performance being a quarterfinal finish at the All England. Hampered by a back injury that forced him to retire against Lin Chun-Yi at the Singapore Open, he showed glimpses of regaining touch during a narrow three-game defeat to world No. 3 Shi Yu Qi in Indonesia.
Lakshya, now ranked 18th, starts against China’s Wang Zheng Xing.
Sindhu, ranked 16th, had her best performance this year with a quarterfinal at the India Open in January. The former world champion, who turned 30 this month, has faced four first-round and three second-round exits in 2025.
Recovering from a hamstring injury, Sindhu has been training under Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama for the past six months and begins her campaign against Korea’s Sim Yu Jin, against whom she has a 3-0 win-loss record.
If Sindhu wins her first-round match, she is expected to face third seed Akane Yamaguchi in the second round.
Among others, Unnati Hooda, a Taipei Open semifinalist earlier in 2025, faces seventh seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the opening round, while Anupama Upadhyaya takes on fellow Indian Rakshitha Ramraj.
In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will face Korea’s third seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae.
Women’s doubles pairs Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi and the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, are also competing.
Schedule for July 15
Kokona Ishikawa-Maiko Kawazoe vs Rutuparna & Swetaparna Panda: 1:10 pm IST
(With PTI Inputs)
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