Sydney, Nov 18 (IANS) Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have moved to the second round of the Australian Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event, at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday.

The Indian duo outclassed Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-Wei 25-23, 21-16 in 48 minutes to set up a round of 16 clash with Su Ching Heng and Wu Guan Xun, another pair from Chinese Taipei.

World No. 3 pair Rankireddy and Shetty, coming off consecutive finals at the Hong Kong Super 500 and China Masters Super 750, recovered from an early 2–6 deficit against Taiwan’s Ko-Chi and Li-Wei in the first-ever meet between the opponents. The Taiwanese maintained a slight lead until 16–14, but Satwik and Chirag rallied to 19–17. The opener became a tight contest, with both pairs exchanging game points. A sharp net shot earned the Indians a chance to close the game, but the Taiwanese saved it with a strong smash. After several tense points — including errors on both sides — the Indians finally secured the game when their opponents hit the net.

Changing sides, Satwik and Chirag moved ahead 7–4, though two net errors and a powerful smash from the Taiwanese brought the game level. The next few points were shared evenly until the Indians took a one-point edge at the interval after a long Taiwanese smash. Maintaining steady pressure, they stretched the lead to 18–15 and wrapped up the match with two well-placed smashes, completing a composed finish.

In women’s doubles, fourth-seeded Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand exited early, falling 21–10, 21–14 in 40 minutes to Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. The match marked the Indian duo’s return after a three-and-a-half-month break, and they struggled to match the Indonesians’ tempo and precision.

India’s singles players — Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth and Ayush Shetty — will begin their campaigns on Wednesday, aiming for deep runs in the tournament.

–IANS

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