May 18th 2024.
On a sunny Saturday in Bangkok, India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, made their way to the finals of the Thailand Open badminton tournament with an impressive victory over Lu Ming-Che and Tang Kai-Wei of Chinese Taipei. The Asian Games champions displayed their dominance on the court, defeating their world No. 80 opponents in just 35 minutes with a score of 21-11 21-12 at the Nimibutr Stadium.
This is not the first time that Satwik and Chirag have tasted success in Thailand. In 2019, they had won their first Super 500 crown here, making this tournament even more special for them. As they inch closer to another title, the duo is filled with happy memories and a special bond with this country. "It has already been a good tournament for us. We wanted to get back into the rhythm of playing more tournaments and always love coming to Thailand. This place holds a special place in our hearts as we won our first medal and Thomas Cup here, and now we are in another final. It's truly amazing," Satwik shared.
Chirag also expressed his excitement about reaching the final, saying, "We wanted to make it far in this tournament and we have been consistently winning, so now we have just one more day to go. We will give our best performance tomorrow." The Indian pair has been making waves on the BWF World Tour, as this is their fourth final appearance this season. They have already finished as runner-ups at the Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750, and claimed the French Super 750 in March.
In the final on Sunday, Satwik and Chirag, who are ranked third in the world and are the top seeds in this tournament, will face off against the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi. The Chinese duo defeated Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang of South Korea in the semifinals with a score of 21-19 21-18. "There will be a lot of expectations from us. People are hoping for a big win, but we are not putting too much pressure on ourselves. We don't want to dwell on past experiences, it's one match at a time for us. We are focused on this moment and giving our best," Satwik said confidently.
He added, "Deep inside, we wanted to do well, and we are sure we will do better than last time. Last time, we played at 90%, but this time we will give it our all. We will put forth our best performance and see what happens."
Unfortunately, the fourth-seeded Indian women's doubles pair of Tanisha Carsto and Ashwini Ponnappa could not make it to the finals as they lost to top seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand in the semifinals with a score of 12-20 20-22.
The past few tournaments have not been the best for Satwik and Chirag, as they faced early exits at the All England Championships and missed the Asia Championships due to an injury to Satwik. They also did not have a successful campaign at the Thomas Cup, losing to top pairs in close matches. However, their appearance in the finals of the Thailand Open will give them a major boost ahead of the Paris Olympics.
In the semifinals, Satwik and Chirag faced minimal challenges from Lu and Tang, who only managed to play well in short bursts but lacked the aggression and accuracy to trouble the Indians. In the first game, Satwik and Chirag took an early lead of 3-0, but the Taiwanese pair quickly caught up, making the score 5-4. However, they started making errors, giving the Indian duo a lead of 11-7 at the break. The Indians continued to dominate after the break, with sharp placements and clever tactics, and easily won the first game.
The second game started on a close note, with the two pairs tied at 6-all. Satwik even attempted a risky behind-the-back return, but it went wide. However, Lu and Tang were not able to maintain the pressure, and the Indians took the lead for the first time at 9-7. The Chinese pair couldn't keep up with the pace and made more errors, giving the Indians a comfortable lead of 15-10. With Lu and Tang struggling to find their rhythm, the Indian duo quickly grabbed 8 match points and sealed the victory with a series of fast returns from Chirag at the front court.
In conclusion, Satwik and Chirag's exceptional performance in the semifinals has put them in a great position for the finals, and they are determined to give their best and hopefully bring home another title.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
