Tokyo Olympics: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty stun World No. 3, B Sai Praneeth succumbs his opener

The Tokyo Olympics saw mixed results in badminton on Day 1. While the men's doubles pair stunned the world number three pair in the opening game of the group stage, in men's singles, B Sai Praneeth lost his opener to Israel's Misha Zilberman.

Day 1 of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics saw a couple of badminton actions involving the Indians, which produced mixed results. While the men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty were engaged in an intense, yet victorious, encounter, singles prospect B Sai Praneeth succumbed to a loss.

The world number ten pair of Chirag and Satwik was up against Chinese Taipei's Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang (world number three). While it was a thriller until the deciding third set, the Indian par won 21-16, 16-21 and 27-25.

The match lasted just over an hour, as the Indian duo excelled in both attack and defence in the opening set, while the Taipei duo attacked valiantly in the second set. Nevertheless, the Indians upped their ante in the deciding game with some quick movements and hardly allowing the Taipei players to react.

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In the meantime, Praneeth was up against Misha Zilberman of Israel, as he suffered a straight-set 21-17 and 21-15 defeat. The loss has seriously jeopardised his chances of qualifying for the knockouts, as he now faces Netherlands' Mark Caljouw (world number 29).

Although the Indian was in the lead in the opening set, the Israeli dominated with some cross-court smashes, thus winning it. In the next set, Zilberman increased his pace as Praneeth failed to match him and give up.

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