Asian men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Sunday scripted history as they beat the reigning world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the final of the Indonesia Open to win India's maiden BWF Super 1000 title.
The Indian pair, sixth in men's doubles rankings, registered a 21-17, 21-18 win over their World No. 3 Malaysian opponents in 43 minutes.
Satwik and Chirag had lost to the Malaysians on eight previous occasions.
“In the earlier eight matches against them, we would hold ourselves back, but today we stuck to the plan. We felt they are humans, they are players, and they will also make mistakes. We stuck to the plan right till the end and never really gave them a chance to come back,” said Chirag after the win.
“Even in the second game when they took a couple of points, we were like we don’t have to hold ourselves back and play safe that would have made the game a little slow and they are good at capitalising on. Am really happy and we really needed this win,” he added.
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, right, and Chirag Shetty celebrate after defeating Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik during their men's doubles final match at Indonesia Open.
(Photo: PTI)
Satwiksairaj and Chirag were slow to get off the blocks in the first game but unleashed a flurry of attacking shots to win six consecutive points and take a 9-7 lead. The Indian pair then protected their slender lead and closed the game with two straight points.
Both teams took an aggressive approach in the second game and were level at 6-6. However, Chirag and Satwiksairaj demonstrated quicker reflexes to stun their higher-ranked opponents and went into the break with a four-point lead.
Just like in the first game, the Indian pair never allowed Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to mount a comeback and registered their first-ever win over the Malaysians in eight meetings
Before this win, no Indian pair had ever gone beyond the semi-finals in a BWF Super 1000 World Tour event.
“For the past few tournaments, I don’t feel like dancing (in celebration) because I felt more hunger. We have won this tournament, and next week we have another. We go back and reset. But I am still happy with the way we played. It felt like a new day, playing new opponents. We were down 8-0 in head-to-head, but I wasn’t thinking much about it. I thought to myself this was a final and both teams were under pressure and if we play good we will win. We were under control when we got a strike in the first game. I said to myself it’s our day don’t panic and just playing like any other final,” Rankireddy said after the in.
"This is historic and a fantastic victory for India. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been consistently doing the country proud. And this victory is also a testament to how fast Indian badminton is climbing the doubles ladder globally. Also, a big applause for the coaches and the support staff for ensuring such consecutive performances,” said BAI General Secretary, Sanjay Mishra.
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, right, and Chirag Shetty play against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto during their men's doubles quarterfinal match at Indonesia Open.
(Photo: PTI)
Chirag-Satwiksairaj and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik had also met in the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo which the Indian pair lost in three games.
The win at Indonesia Open was the sixth title for Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on the BWF World Tour. Their last BWF title came at the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament in March. However, the Indian pair entered the Indonesia Open after suffering a first-round exit at the Singapore Open earlier this month.
The Indian badminton players will next be seen in action in the Taipei Open BWF Super 300 event, starting on Tuesday.
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