
At the Swiss Open Super Series 300 on Saturday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty overcame a mid-match slump to advance to the men’s doubles final.
In an enthralling semifinal that lasted one hour and nine minutes, the world number six and second-seeded Indian duo defeated Malaysia’s third seeds, Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, 21-19, 17-21, 21-17. At the summit clash on Sunday, Satwik and Chirag, the bronze medalists from the 2022 World Championships, will face the unseeded Chinese pair of Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang.
#SwissOpen2023 : Super Series Badminton Tournament, Indian Men's Doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will play unseeded Chinese pair of Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the summit clash today. pic.twitter.com/HDgRMRLJen
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 26, 2023
Satwik and Chirag started positively in the semifinals against Malaysian opponents with a 3-2 head-to-head advantage before this match. Still, they were beaten by the Malaysians midway through the first game. After trailing 17-19 in the first game, they scored four points to win 21-19.
The Malaysians, however, did not give up easily. During the second game, they gained an early lead. Although they did not completely pull away from the Indians, they remained in front until the game concluded 21-17. In many ways, the third game mirrored the second. Satwik and Chirag asserted themselves early on and did not let the lead erode. Satwik and Chirag are the only Indian contenders in a tournament where PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen suffered early defeats.