Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj beat World No. 1 pair to clinch Korea Open

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, July 23, 2023: Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat world no. 1 Indonesian pair 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 in men’s doubles final, clinch Korea Open Super 500 badminton title. The Indian pair, after losing the first set, showed remarkable improvement to down the top seeds Fajar ALfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

The ace Indian duo had entered the final with a thrilling straight-game win over the world number two Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang on Saturday. The world number three Indian pair notched up a 21-15, 24-22 win over the second-seeded Chinese in a 40-minute duel at the Jinnam stadium. It was Satwik and Chirag’s first win over the Chinese pair following two earlier defeats.

Playing their fourth final of the year, the world No. 3 Indians rallied their way to a 17-21 21-13 21-14 win over the two-time world championships bronze medallists Alfian and Ardianto in a thrilling summit clash of the Super 500 badminton tournament.

Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champions, thus extended their winning streak to 10 matches and added another feather to their cap, following their victory at the Swiss Open, Asian Championships and Indonesia Open this year.

The Indian pair had a 2-2 head-to-head count against Asian Games silver medallists Alfian and Ardianto but they had beaten the Indonesians on last two occasions.

The Indians looked a little subdued in the beginning as they lagged behind in the opening game but they recovered in the fag end, narrowing a 10-19 deficit with a six-point burst before falling short.

However, they found the momentum in the second game and dominated the proceedings thereafter to come up trumps.