Paris, July 31: India’s Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have advanced to the men’s doubles quarter-finals as Group C toppers at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The world No. 3 Indian pair dominated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, winning 21-13, 21-13 in 40 minutes at the La Chapelle Arena. This marks their fourth victory over the world No. 7 Indonesian pair.
Both pairs had already secured their quarter-final spots after French duo Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar lost their matches, and the German team of Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel withdrew due to Lamsfuss’s injury. Chirag-Satwik, who missed the quarters at Tokyo 2020 by a single point, topped Group C undefeated. Their quarter-final opponents are yet to be decided.
In the match, the first game was closely contested until 7-7, but the Indian pair pulled ahead to lead 11-8 at the break. They maintained a three-point lead at 15-12 and finished the first game 21-13. The second game was also tight at 6-6 before Chirag-Satwik surged ahead with five consecutive points, eventually winning 21-13.
Meanwhile, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa were eliminated from the women’s doubles after losing all their group matches. They finished last in Group C after a 21-15, 21-10 loss to Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Wu.
India’s singles players HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will compete on Wednesday. Prannoy faces Duc Phat Le of Vietnam, Lakshya takes on All England champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, and Sindhu plays against Kristin Kuuba of Estonia.