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World No. 1 Fajr Alfian and Mohamed Ryan Ardianto were in poor shape. Indian seventh seed Satwikserj Rankiridi and Chirag Shetty It made them look miserable, with their perfect spin and double-barreled attack from the front yard. Silencing the Indonesian crowd at Estora Senayan Stadium is no easy feat, as it is easily one of the loudest arenas in sports. But the Indians were so dominant over the top seeds that they managed the incredible feat of briefly silencing the crowd after a 21-13, 21-13 victory over the hosts.
Chirag Shetty had a particularly good game, making Indonesia’s best seeds nervous by targeting Adrianto, who was particularly error-prone. He would hop around the front yard at a foolproof pace, then back off occasionally even as Satwick was running the front. All the Indonesians had was the parallel game, and the Indians outplayed and outplayed them in the flat exchanges. Even the Indians made a couple of service mistakes in their stride.
The duo broke away at 6-6 and built a 16-10 lead in which the home duo saw no way back against the sharp counterattack that permeated them. At 17-10, Satwick converted his defensive save into a cross with small blows to the clubhead. But for the most part it was Chirag’s smash-from-behind festival, even as Satwick finished on top to win the opener 21-13.
Sat-Chi entered the semi-finals in style, beating home favorite duo WR-1 in back-to-back games 🤩🔥
Well done boys 💪
📸: @tweet @tweet | @Sanjay091968 | @ lakhaniarun1 # Indonesia Open 2023# Indonesia OpenSuper1000#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/HZ91oqOEU3
– BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 16, 2023
The second set mirrored the first, and although the crowd offered some solid support, the Indonesians had no reaction, and Adrianto was reduced to a bundle of nerves. The Indian duo again reached 16-10 with a relentless smash, and closed out the quarter-finals with an identical score of 21-13, 21-13.
The Indians play Korean Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in the semi-finals.
Branui defeats Kodai
HS Prannoy had half a dozen kills on the crosscourt that stole all the attention, but it was the hard work in setting them up that was commendable when he beat Japan’s third seed Kodai Naraoka 21-18, 21-16 in a contest that lasted 55 minutes long.
The slow court conditions were in Kodai’s favor and he was a strong opponent. The way Prannoy fought and her mental focus was commendable, Coach Gopichand later said.
Brannui enters the semi-finals with a dominant win over WR-4 Kodai Naraoka 😎🔥
📸: @tweet @tweet | @Sanjay091968 | @ lakhaniarun1 # Indonesia Open 2023# Indonesia OpenSuper1000#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/Nw3tX0s5DM
– BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 16, 2023
Naraoka does not come armed with visible weapons. But his defense is so strong that he can drain opponents’ energy and absorb their attack like a sponge. When Branoy pulled back the all-out offense and rallied he could pave the way for those great cross pitches. It was his 70-80 percent drops and smashes that made him the slots for good looking players. And that was a lot of hard work.
The match remained tight until 17-all in the first set, as both players worked a series of points and caught up. As the rallies became longer and more punishing, Branoy began pulling Naraoka fouls for a 20-17 lead. He pocketed the first ball with an attacking backhand at the net. However, Naraoka dropped the first set and went on to win the previous two matches. Branwe had to keep up his pace and pick up his heels at second.
The Indian, ranked No. 9 in the world, will stay in the rallies defensively, working himself into positions where he can smash through the cross court. The cross court smashing was a beauty in itself – it connected high in the air, jumping and injecting speed into your stroke by adding some shoulder to it. It helped him get away from a boy at the age of 14-16. The winning accidental kill space will be created by pulling Naraoka forward into the grate, forcing the lift.
Like a whistle piercing a round of applause, at 18-16 he sent a straight slam dunk to break the rhythm and inject confusion just in time. The next two outings, with the fumble spiraling, ended with two cross-court smashes that hit him on a wrong foot as it made it 20-16. The win was his at 21-16 as Naraoka drifted away. Brannui was in his third semi-final in Indonesia – and is set to face world number one Viktor Axelsen.
He has unfinished business since 2017, when he took on the giant killing duties by opening up the title track for Kidambi Srikanth, but couldn’t advance to the final himself. Brannoy 2023 is a different beast, confidently beating Axelsen too.
On a disappointing day, Srikanth himself got the opener against Li Shifeng, but was unable to keep up the momentum going down 14-21, 21-14, 21-12 as his errors piled up. The Indian had great heights in defense and often admired the net, but as always his mistakes outnumbered the winners as the Chinese triumphed.
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