New Delhi: India's Lakshya Sen cam up with a remarkable performance to clinch the Yonex-Sunrise India Open badminton title by winning the men's singles final on Sunday. He defeated defending world champion Loh Keen Yew of Singapore in straight games in the final, at the age of just 20.
Sairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty Stun Former World Champions To Win Maiden India Open Title
Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Sunday became the first men's doubles pair in the country to win the Yonex-Sunrise India Open after registering a stunning win in straight games over three-time world champions Mohamed Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.
The Indian pair, ranked 10th in the world rankings, started the new season on a grand note with a 21-16 26-24 win over the top seeded Indonesian pair in 43 minutes.
Rankireddy and Shetty had earlier won their first Super 500 tournament in Thailand in 2019. Before this match, Satwik and Chirag could register only one win in four matches against the Indonesian pair.
After facing the threat of being ruled out of the tournament due to a false positive Covid-19 test result, the pair have displayed a strong mindset by winning the title.
With this win, they were able to secure important ranking points ahead of a busy season. These ranking points will be crucial for qualifying for events like Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
The duo reached the final of the French Open Super 750 (2019) with a win at the Thailand Open in 2019. Both had won the Hyderabad Open Super 100 tournament in 2018.
The pair had won a silver medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games besides being runners-up at the Syed Modi International.
The pair of Rankireddy and Shetty also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics last year, but failed to make it through the group stage despite winning two out of three matches.