Satwik-Chirag storm into semifinals of India Open
The 2022 champions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes
New Delhi: Doubles badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lifted the spirits of the Indian camp with a dominant performance as they stormed into the semifinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday.
Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 champions, pulverised the Korean pair of Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk with a barrage of attacking shots, winning 21-10, 21-17 in just 41 minutes. The victory marked their third consecutive semifinal appearance on the tour, following finishes in the last four stage at the China Masters and Malaysia Super 1000 last year. The seventh seeded Indians will face Malaysian third seeds Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin in the semifinals. “Right from the word go, we were all guns blazing. I think that’s what we wanted to do because once they were able to defend, if we are a bit slow, then they are able to capitalize on the opponent being a bit slow and try to maneuver the shuttle around,” Chirag said. “We were pretty comfortable even though it was close. It was our mistakes we did in the last three points, so there was no tension. We are under control, we are telling like nothing to worry, just one point at a time. So we kept believing that and we are very positive from the start as well,” Satwik added.
The match began with a fierce rally, but thereafter, it was complete domination from Satwik and Chirag. The Indians kept the rallies short, launching relentless attacks and engaging in crisscross net play to lead 11-3 at the break. Jin and Kang tried mixing rallies with drops and deep tosses, but the Indians were relentless, zooming to 18-8. Satwik and Chirag soon earned 11 game points with two more smashes, before another thunderbolt from Satwik sealed the first game. In the second game, Jin and Kang initially held a slender 4-3 lead but it was short-lived. A barrage of attacking shots from the Indians helped them make it 9-4 as they entered the interval with a five-point cushion following Satwik’s down-the-line smash. The Koreans clawed back to make it 13-15 and won a 37-shot rally to level the score at 16-16. However, Chirag unleashed a smash to extinguish any hope of a revival, and with a final net error from the Koreans, Satwik and Chirag grabbed three match points before sealing the match at the first opportunity.
