NEW DELHI: India's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was the lone bright spot on an otherwise disappointing day for home shuttlers, as the reigning Asian Games gold medallists advanced to the pre-quarters of the India Open Super 750 series after securing a hard-fought 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 victory over Chinese Taipei's Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee on Wednesday.
The second seeds, who finished runners-up at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, had lost the plot in the second game despite reducing the deficit to 18-19 after trailing their opponents 5-11 but managed to keep their calm to eke out a nervy win. In the third and final set, the Indians took control of the proceedings with attacking rallies, cross-court smashes and fine net play.