Xtra Time Web Desk: World No.2 men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy recorded a stellar victory in what was a repeat of the Asian Game 2022 semi-finals against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the India Open 2024 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi on Saturday.
The Indian pair secured a 21-18, 21-14 against Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Chia and Wooi Yik and progressed to the final of the HSBC BWF 750 Series badminton tournament, organised by the Badminton Association of India.
The first game was a neck-to-neck affair with both pairs performing at their absolute best. With the game tied at 17-17, Chirag-Satwik scored three straight points to surge ahead and take the lead in the tie.
The Malaysian pair came back with renewed energy in the second game to take a 10-6 advantage.
But, the Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallists mounted a comeback and scored five straight points to overturn a 10-13 deficit. From that point, Chirag-Satwik dominated their opponents and after winning a 29-shot rally, claimed the victory.
The former champions will face reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the final.
Expressing his thoughts on the win Chirag Shetty said, “It was a good win today. Going into the match, we knew that it will be a tough game because we always had some really close games. But luckily in the end, we stayed calm and eventually won. The crowd support has been tremendous. It feels really, special and I hope to see many more people coming in huge numbers tomorrow as well. Last year, we couldn’t complete the tournament, but this time playing in the final, against the Koreans who are a formidable duo, definitely it will be a good match. We aim for the title”
Shi Yu Qui will face Hong Kong’s Lee Chuek Yiu, who stunned 2023 World Championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka of Japan in a thrilling 21-13, 15-21, 21-19 win, in the final.