India’s top men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a winning return to the BWF circuit in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualification phase as they clinched the Brazil International Challenge badminton tournament without dropping a game.
The world number 26 combination had been out of action on the international circuit since November 2018 as Satwik suffered a hairline fracture just ahead of the Premier Badminton League and had to withdraw from many tournament this year as he wanted to be 100% fit before the Olympic qualification period started.
A mix up over the entries for the New Zealand Open, which was played in the same week, meant that Satwik and Chirag had to travel to Brazil for their first tournament of the year and they ensured that there were no hiccups on their return.
The top seeds began with a comfortable win over Peru’s Bruno Deza and Diego Mini in just 28 minutes and sealed the title on Sunday with a 21-14, 21-18 victory over The Netherlands’ Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling.
Mondal finishes runners-up in Indonesia
In the junior international circuit, Ankit Mondal finished runners-up in the u-15 boy’s singles category in the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Tangerang Selatan after losing the final 21-18, 21-12 against top seed Alwi Farhan.
The unseeded Indian had accounted for three seeds in the tournament including third seed Bodhi Ratana Teja Gotama in the quarter-finals but could not find the same rhythm in the final against Farhan.
Another Indian, Anupama Upadhyaya, had also reached the semi-finals of the u-15 girls’ singles category where she lost to top seed Pitchamon Opatniput of Thailand 21-14, 21-15.
