Fuzhou (China): India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the semi-finals of the Fuzhou China Open 2019 badminton tournament on Friday (November 8).

In the quarter-final match against China's Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen, the Indian duo outclassed the world number three ranked opponents in two straight games 21-19, 21-15 at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center.

Also read: Satwiksairaj and Chirag settle for silver

In the 43-minute long encounter, Indians had the upper hand in the game as they did not lose momentum in both the games.

In the second round clash, the Indian duo had defeated Japan's Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe 21-18, 23-21, 21-11.

Rankireddy-Shetty will now face world number one pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo from Indonesia in the semifinal encounter on November 9.

Last month, Rankireddy and Shetty had to settle for silver after losing the final of the French Open badminton tournament in Paris on Sunday (October 27).

Satwiksairaj and Chirag had enjoyed a dream run in the BWF World Tour Super 750 event. However, they could not cross the final hurdle, losing to the top-seeded duo from Indonesia, Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.

The Indians put up a valiant effort in the final against Gideon and Sanjaya Sukamuljo before going down 21-18, 21-16.

(With inputs from ANI)