Sindhu exits, Satwik-Chirag duo enters quarters of Swiss Open
Basel (PTI): Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu failed to defend her Swiss Open Super 300 badminton title as she was shocked by unseeded Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a thrilling three-game women's singles second round match here.
World no.9 Sindhu, seeded fourth here, was stunned 15-21 21-12 18-21 by the 38th ranked Wardani in their first-ever face-off at the international level on Thursday night.
But second-seeded men's pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept India's flag flying by entering the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 12-21 21-17 28-26 win over Taiwanese pair of Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee.
The world No. 6 Indian duo will next face Danish pair of Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede later on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, world No. 9 and fifth seed H S Prannoy made a shock second-round exit after losing in straight games against unseeded Christo Popov of France.
Prannoy, favourite coming into the contest, looked a pale shadow of himself in front of world No. 40 Popov as he failed to give any fight, losing 8-21 8-21 to bow out of the men's singles event.
But it was Kidambi Srikanth, who was the first to crash out on Thursday, losing to Hong Kong's Cheuk Yiu Lee.
Going by rankings, there was hardly anything to separate the two as Srikanth is placed 20th in the world as against his rival's 19th position.
It was a hard-fought match, but Lee kept his composure to emerge 22-20 21-17 winner in the singles pre-quarterfinal contest.
National champion Mithun Manjunath also bowed out in the second round, losing 19-21 10-21 to Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei.
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China says will continue to stand by Pak in upholding its ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity’
Islamabad, May 10 (PTI): China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday said that his country would continue to stand by Pakistan in upholding its “sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence”.
The Chinese foreign minister made these comments during a telephonic conversation with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, according to a statement by the Foreign Office.
During the conversation, Dar briefed Wang Yi on the evolving regional situation.
Wang Yi acknowledged Pakistan’s “restraint and appreciated its responsible approach under challenging circumstances”.
“He reaffirmed that China, as Pakistan’s All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner and iron-clad friend, will continue to stand firmly by Pakistan in upholding its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence,” the Foreign Office said.
Separately, Dar also spoke with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, who welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India.
Dar also spoke with Foreign Minister of Türkiye Hakan Fidan and apprised him of the current situation in the region.
India and Pakistan have agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday, claiming that it was a result of the US-mediated talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio termed it a US-brokered ceasefire while commending Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif on “their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace”.
The ceasefire came hours after India and Pakistan attacked each other’s military facilities, dangerously escalating the ongoing conflict.
