Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got a much-needed boost ahead of the Paris Olympics with a triumph in Bangkok on Sunday. The top seeds did not drop a game on the way to the title and defeated Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi of China 21-15, 21-15 in the final of the Thailand Open BWF Super-500 tournament.
Satwik-Chirag had announced their arrival on the world stage with the Thailand Open victory in 2019 and this is the second title of the year for the duo after the French Open Super-750 in March.
“This is a lucky venue for us. Our journey started here in 2019 and we went on to win many tournaments. Hopefully, this victory will help us do well in big tournaments, and also the Olympics,” Satwik said.
This is the ninth BWF Tour title for the duo and their fourth Super-500 crown. They have also won two Super-750 and one Super-1000 titles. They are the only Indians to win Asian Games gold and were also the Asian champions.
Despite being 26 rungs behind the world No. 3 Indians, at 29, the Chinese fought well in the first game. The Indians fell four points behind at one stage (6-10) before recovering to secure a 14-12 lead. “We know that they play very fast and we couldn’t relax. This is the best match we played throughout the tournament. The good thing is we were calm and in control,” Satwik added.
The Indians started brightly in the second game, leading 11-6 at one point. At 15-11 however, the Chinese fought back and made it 15-16. Both teams shifted to a faster gear with the Indians managing to collect the next five points. The main advantage for the Satwik-Chirag duo was their smashing prowess. Satwik won the 20th point with three straight smashes. Lu managed to return two but could not hold on to the third. Chirag secured the winning point with another smash winner.
