Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the semifinals of the China Masters BWF Super-750 tournament with a hard fought 21-16, 21-19 victory against Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in Shenzhen on Friday. The Indian challenge ended in the men’s singles, however, after unseeded Lakshya Sen lost to third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark 18-21, 15-21 in the quarterfinals.
The sixth seeded Indians took 47 minutes to record their fourth victory against the second seeded Danes in 10 meetings. The Indians dominated the first game but faced stiff resistance in the second. Hitting smashes with ease, the tall pair took an early lead in the first game and widened the gap to 14-8.