Hyderabad: As expected, Indonesians Marcus Gideon Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, the world no. 1, past Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India managed to record a 21-13, 21-12 victory in 32 minutes in the second Group A match at the Olympics. Monday. It was Chirag-Satwik’s ninth consecutive loss against the untamed Indonesian pair.
Satwik and Chirag lost one win and one, while the Indonesian pair both won their matches. Satwik and Chirag, who shocked Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei at world number 3, face England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the final Group A match. If the Indian pair wins and if the Indonesian pair takes down the Chinese Taipei pair, Satwik and Chirag could sail to the quarterfinals. Lee and Wang defeated the English pair to be in the fight.
Satwik and Chirag rode high on Sunday after their good win over the Chinese Taipei pair, and were gently nodded to the superior Indonesian pair. Former national coach Bhaskar Babu said the Indian pair had not read the match, tactics and shots of the world number one pair.
‘The Indian couple’s response to the net was slightly slow. They played a defensive game and they made mistakes on the net. They could not complete the rallies because the fast Indonesians were good on the net. This led to Chirag and Satwik making mistakes, ” he said, adding: “perhaps the lack of match practice did not help their case.”
According to doubles player Sumeeth Reddy, the Indonesian pair is a notch above the Chirag and Satwik. “Both Fernaldi and Sukamuljo play a fast and aggressive game. They play according to a plan and put pressure on the Indians with their speed and reflexes at court. ‘Sukamuljo was excellent on the net,’ ‘he said.
Fernaldi’s ministries were also good and often caught the Indians off guard. ‘But what’s important is that the Indonesians kept Satwik on the net, and that helped them dominate the match.
Although both Satwik and Chirag started beautifully, but once the Indonesians took the grip of the match, they sailed to victory. Perhaps the Indians could have changed the tactic a little by indulging themselves in marches or a little dribble to the net, but the strong Indonesians ensured that there were short gatherings to crush Indian hope. ‘
Source: Telangana Today