Indian ace pair beaten in opening encounter

Speed and service adjustments proved decisive as China’s He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu secured their first 12-21 21-15 21-19 win over rivals and fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India in three meetings at the Denmark Open badminton championships.

Xiangyu, one half of the the World No.37, said that pair built their strategy around taking time away from the opposition.

“Speed was key. We had to be quicker than them in every aspect and get to the shuttle earlier,” he said.

For Jiting, the turning point came behind the service line.

“We needed to make some changes on serve to disrupt their rhythm and stop them settling into the match,” he said. “It worked well for us.”

Having reached the quarterfinals in Odense in 2023, the pair have set their sights higher this week.

“Our target is to reach the final, but we’ll take each match at a time,” Jiting said.

Win Lifts Christie

Defending champion Jonatan Christies 21-13 21-14 opening win over Lin Chun-Yi on Day 2 brought a welcome lift after a difficult run, but the he is keeping his ambitions modest.

“I got a little bit injured,” Christie revealed explaining that a busy tournament schedule had left him with little opportunity to rest. Asked how he was feeling, he was candid: “Still not good enough.”

The victory was an important one. “It’s very important because I got some confidence from it,” the World No.4 added. The defending champion is concentrating on his own performance rather than the prospect of retaining the title. “I just want to focus on my game and get my confidence back.”

After the match, his immediate plan was to take it easy with his team. “I want to rest first. I want to play some card games with my team. I bought my Nintendo Switch with me so I’ll play some games on that. It’s a good way to relax.”

He will meet compatriot Alwi Farhan in the round of 16. Christie shared that the two had spoken after testing the main court. Farhan had expressed hope that they might meet in the second round. Christie’s response: “I told him, just focus on the first round,” he laughed.

That is the approach Christie is taking himself. When asked about defending his title, he said it was “still far to talk about”. After injury and limited rest, an important opening win gives him a reason to feel encouraged.

This will be the third encounter with Christie leading the head-to-head 2-0.