Kuala Lumpur: India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashed out of the Malaysia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 event after losing to a South Korean pair in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Indian duo lost to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae 10-21, 15-21 in straight games in 40 minutes. The result also ended India’s representation in the year’s first Super 1000 tournament with prize money of USD 1,450,000. Sawig-Chirag finished runner-up in the last edition of the tournament.
The Indian duo had a slow start, trailing 6-11 in the opening game. The Korean pair capitalised on the momentum, taking the first game 21-10 in just 19 minutes. The seventh-seeded Indians bounced back in the second game, leading 11-8 at the midway point. However, their advantage was short-lived, as they eventually lost 15-21 to end their three-match winning run in the competition.
On Friday, the Indian pair had defeated Malaysia’s Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in straight games, 26-24, 21-15, in a 49-minute quarterfinal clash.
“We saw them playing before in the tournament and we were prepared. But I felt they played really well today and we could have followed a little bit of our gameplan. I felt we just played a random show. And I mean, we shouldn’t complain about anything as it’s part and parcel of the game and it’s a good learning for us. We can learn so much from them because they’re playing really well,” said Chirag Shetty after the match.
“So yeah, disappointed. But I mean, we have a longer to go, overall, a good government for us. Talking of the game plan, we started out with a lot of soft touches, you know, pushing, trying to push them. And then there was a big shift in the second game,” he said.
Earlier, Indian stars shuttlers Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, Priyanshu Rajawat, Malvika Bansod, Akarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyayay and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were ousted in the early stages of the tournament.
Satwik-Chirag, the Asian and Commonwealth Games gold medallists, will next compete in the India Open, starting January 14, where they face Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee in the round of 32.
The former World No.1 pair in men’s doubles has won a bronze medal in the 2022 World Championships and will be hoping to claim their first title of the season at home.
(IANS)
