On Day 2, Lakshya Sen also made progress in the All England Open Badminton 2024 singles.
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India’s badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kicked off their All England Open 2024 journey with an impressive win. They defeated the veteran world champion pair from Indonesia, Mohammad Ahsan, and Hendra Setiawan, at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Wednesday. Riding the momentum from their win at the French Open 2024, the pair maintained their high level of play and secured a 21-18, 21-14 win against the Indonesian favorites.
Standing as the world’s number one men’s doubles team and seeded fourth in the tournament, Chirag and Satwik are set to take on fellow Indonesians Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in round two. With the current world champions, Kang Minhyuk and Seo Seungjae, already out, the Indian pair have their sights set on making history by winning the All-England Open, a feat no Indian doubles team has achieved before.
In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen showed top form by winning his first-round match against Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen with a strong 21-14, 21-14 performance. As the first half of the match progressed, Sen and Johannesen were neck and neck. At a tie of 8-8, Sen pulled ahead by scoring four points in a row, thanks to a mix of net shots and powerful smashes, leaving the Danish player behind. Johannesen, clearly upset by a missed shot, dropped his racket and kicked the shuttle into the net.
Following a semi-final appearance at the French Open, Sen is preparing to face another tough Danish player, Anders Antonsen, who is world-ranked number three and a World Championships silver medalist. On the other hand, Indian player Priyanshu Rajawat couldn’t overcome Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, losing 21-19, 11-21, 21-9. The loss was against the World No. 29 player.
In the women’s doubles, the Indian pair Tanisha Castro and Ashwini Ponnappa successfully overcame Hong Kong’s Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam with a score of 21-13, 21-18. The Indian pair took charge from the start, with a lead of 11-5 at halftime. Following the break, they managed to score an additional five points, resulting in a score of 14-5.
The Hong Kong team struggled to compete against Ponnappa and Crasto due to their exceptional performance. They committed numerous errors. Despite a small setback where the Indian team missed two chances to win the game, they bounced back and won the first game 21-13. Their next challenge will be against China’s Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu in the pre-quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda exited the tournament after a defeat to Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi by 21-9, 21-9. World No. 1 in women’s singles, An Seyoung of South Korea, triumphed over Hsu Wenchi from Chinese Taipei, setting the stage for a much-anticipated match with India’s PV Sindhu in the second round. Sindhu advanced after her opponent from Germany, Yvonne Li, retired mid-match on Tuesday.
You can catch the 2024 All England Open live on the Badminton World Federation’s YouTube, BWF TV. In India, the action will be broadcast on Jio Cinema, Sports 18, and Sports 18 HD. The competition wraps up on March 17 and it’s a key chance for players to rack up points for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The race for Olympic spots started on May 1 of the last year.
PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medal winner, advanced to the next round of the All England Open 2024 when her opponent, Yvonne Li, had to quit due to an injury during their match on Tuesday in Birmingham. After winning the first game 21-10, Sindhu, who is ranked 11th in the world, watched as Li, ranked 28th, could not go on.
Meanwhile, India’s top male singles player, HS Prannoy, suffered a surprising defeat. Ranked 7th globally, Prannoy lost to the 32nd-ranked Su Liyang with final scores of 21-14, 13-21, 13-21. This marks Prannoy’s fourth consecutive disappointing outing in this season’s five BWF World Tour events.
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