Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty once again showed why they are Indian badminton’s brightest stars, as they reached the final of the Korea Open Super 500 in style, beating China’s Wang Chang & Liang Wei Keng 21-15, 24-22 on Saturday.
This is their fourth final of the year already, despite a few injury concerns, and they won the previous three (Swiss Open, Badminton Asia Championships, Indonesia Open). And we are only in July.
The Indians, a career-high world No 3 now, had not beaten the world No 2 Chinese pair before – both losses coming just this year, three-game battles at major tournaments (Malaysia Open, All England). But just like in their last tournament – the Indonesia Open final, easily one of their best triumphs – they turned the odds around against a nemesis pair of sorts in what is now becoming typical fire-and-ice Sat-Chi fashion. Commanding game, controlling nerves.
As expected in a battle between two of the top three men’s doubles pairs in the game, the semifinal of started off intense with quickfire exchanges. Things were level till 7-7 – with national coach Pulella Gopichand (in the absence of Mathias Boe) asking his wards to relax.
Satwik and Chirag upped their level just that much to pull away for a lead. They headed into the interval with a 11-8 lead after back-to-back errors from the Chinese. At the stage of the match, these three points was the biggest lead so far.
And then came the domination.
Drilling in the advantage, dictating the pace and points, the Indians opened up a big 14-8 lead, which they maintained for the rest of the game. A smooth cross-court winner and then a whacked-in angled smash over Chirag’s head mid-rally from Satwik brough them close at 19-11.
Liang and Wang had a brief look-in then, after a service error from Chirag gave them 3 points in a row, but it was Sat-Chi all the way, as they gained game points and converted with minimal fuss.
The Indians looked comfortable and cool, like they knew that head-to-head and ranking don’t matter when they play their best physically and mentally.
The second game was much closer, starting with quick exchanges of serves and staying level for most of the first half. Things were level till 8-8 but the Indians’ tempo forced three quick points and they went into interval with an identical 11-8 lead.
The third seeds build up a 14-9 lead similar to first game, but the second seeds were up for a fight, not allowing Sat-Chi to run away with a lead of more than three points.
The second half of the game was characterised by the Chinese making mini comebacks every time there were down, and they found the winners to narrow down the lead to 17-16, even as frustration was evident every time, they made a mistake.
The game peaked when they drew 18-18 level with a jump smash from Lang after a full acceleration in play. The nerves were coming into play as both Chirag and Satwik made back-to-back service errors, the second on match point as the game entered extra time at 20-20.
But both made up for it soon after with smashes, setting up match points. Liang and Wang hung in there, saving three straight match points – a low put away here, a smash winner there, both pairs struggling on serve.
The Indians had a fourth match point opportunity, there was a brief break for court wiping, and then a wild scramble of a rally as Satwik and Chirag closed it out with a net cord in the end.
The celebration showed relief as much as joy, as they hugged the coach and Satwik indulged in his usual on-court dance… the Gangnam style this time playing in South Korea.
This confidence will do them well as they prepare for a fourth title this season – either against top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto or home favourites Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae. But no matter the odds, Satwik and Chirag will go into the title clash with all the composure and belief that the won them the historic Super 1000 tournament last month.
At a tournament where 9 out of 11 Indian singles players lost in the first round and no other player progressed past the second round, it is Satwik and Chirag who keep the Indian badminton flag flying high, once again.
