Satwik-Chirag return to top 10 in BWF rankings
Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty returned to top 10 in the BWF menโs doubles world rankings released on Tuesday, climbing three spots following their semifinal finish at the China Open last week.
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The former world No. 1 pair, now ranked 10th, lost to the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 13-21, 17-21 in the semifinals. This was their third semifinal appearance on the BWF Tour this season, having earlier reached the last four at the Singapore Open and India Open.
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The Indian pair had reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking after the title win at the Thailand Open last year. In menโs singles, top-ranked Indian Lakshya Sen moved up two places to No. 17 with 54,442 points, just ahead of Chinaโs Zhenxiang Wang, who jumped five spots to 18. HS Prannoy also climbed two places to reach world No. 33 with 40,336 points.
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In womenโs singles, 17-year-old Unnati Hooda rose four spots to a career-best No. 31 after her landmark pre-quarterfinal win over double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu last week. The Haryana shuttler stunned Sindhu 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in a gruelling 73-minute battle to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
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Sindhu, meanwhile, remained static at No. 15 and continues to be the highest-ranked Indian in women’s singles. In womenโs doubles, Indiaโs top pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are at No. 11, while Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa have climbed two spots to No. 45.