French Open: Heartbreak for Sindhu; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in semis

Paris: P V Sindhu produced a gallant fight before marginally falling short against reigning Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China in an epic quarterfinal at the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Friday.

On a comeback trail from a four-month-long injury layoff, Sindhu gave ample display of her strokeplay and physical fitness during a marathon one hour and 32-minute battle before settling for a 24-22 17-21 18-21 loss to the second seed and defending champion Chen in a riveting last eight battle.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stayed on course for the men's doubles title after reaching the semifinals with a straight-game win.

The world No. 1 Indian pair, who had won the title in 2022, cruised into the semifinals with a 21-19, 21-13 victory over Thailand's world No. 32 Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle.

The Asian Games champions, who had defeated Malaysian pair of Man Wei Chong and Kai Woo Tee on Thursday night, will next meet world champions and third seeds Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, who had beaten the Indian duo at the India Open final in January this year. Agencies

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