Chirag-Satwik stuns World No 3, Praneeth lose opener in Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo: Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out a sensational show to beat the world no. 3 pair of Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling group A match to make a superb start to their maiden Olympic campaign here on Saturday.
Chirag and Satwik, world no. 10, notched up a stunning 21-16 16-21 27-25 win over third seeds Lee and Wang, who had claimed back-to-back titles at the Yonex Thailand Open, Toyota Thailand Open and BWF World Tour Finals earlier this year.
However, 13th seeded B Sai Praneeth suffered a demoralising 17-21 15-21 loss to world number 47 Misha Zilberman of Israel in a 41-minute men's singles group D match.
Satwik and Chirag matched their fancied rivals both in attack and defence during the one hour and six minute contest, which turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
The Indian duo ran-up a 7-2 lead early on, before entering the break at 11-7. Satwik and Chirag continued to move ahead and eventually grabbed the opening game.
In the second game, it was Lee and Wang who converted most of the opportunities but the Indian duo managed to keep breathing down their neck at 8-10. After the interval, the Chinese duo changed gears and soon bounced back into the contest.
In the decider, the Indian pair enjoyed a slender 2-0 lead, which was quickly erased by their rivals. The two pairs moved neck-and-neck from there on till 10-10.
A net error by Satwik allowed the Chinese Taipei pair to held a one-point lead at the break.
Satwik and Chirag trailed 11-13 but two successive points helped them draw parity.
Errors crept in for the Indians as their opponents led 17-14. A powerful smash was followed by a poor serve by Chirag but Satwik unleashed a smash to make it 15-18.
A smash by Satwik and a superb serve and a follow-up body return by Chirag helped the Indian duo draw parity. Lee and Wang then erred at the net as it was advantage India.
The Chinese Taipei duo then made it 20-20 before sending the shuttle long as match points exchanged hands frequently with both the pairs looking to outwit each other.
Two lucky net chords helped the Chinese pair make it 24-24, before they grabbed a match point. But they failed to convert it and then with the shuttle going long, India once again had another match point.
Chirag and Satwik grabbed it this time when their opponent goofed up at the forecourt. Earlier, Praneeth jeopardised his qualification to the knockout stage after going down to Zilberman.
Praneeth, a 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and now ranked 15th, will next face world number 29 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
In the opening game, Praneeth raced to a 8-4 lead early on but soon Zilberman reeled off five straight points to turn the table as the Indian committed a series of unforced errors.
The Indian entered the break with a one-point advantage after Zilberman made an error.
Praneeth lacked in his execution, which allowed Zilberman to lead 15-13. The Israeli shuttler dominated the proceedings next to zoom to 19-14 as the Indian miscued a few shots.
A cross-court smash helped Zilberman grab six game points and he sealed it on his fourth attempt. A fired-up Zilberman continued to look good with Praneeth sending the first two shuttles long. The Israeli soon led 8-5.
Zilberman continued to dictate terms in the rallies as Praneeth trailed 7-11 at the interval. Praneeth couldn't match the pace of his opponent, who seemed to be playing at a different level.
Zilberman eventually grabbed eight match points after Praneeth went long again and sealed the match with a smash.
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Odisha woman raped twice in a day, dies after being thrown off four-storey building; 2 held
Paradip (Odisha) (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday.
Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.
"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.
As the victim was waiting at the bus stand, another man hailing from Jharkhand, who was heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help.
He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.
The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning.
The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.
Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.
BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.
"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.
"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.
