Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their stellar run on the international stage by reaching the men's doubles semifinals of the prestigious Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament here on Friday.
The seventh-seeded Indian duo defeated Malaysia's Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in straight games, 26-24, 21-15, in a 49-minute quarterfinal clash.
This win marks the third successive semifinal appearance for them in this elite event, thereby underlining their consistency and gradual dominance in men's doubles badminton.
The first game was a rollercoaster of an affair with both pairs showing immense skill and determination. Satwik and Chirag started superbly, taking a healthy lead, but the Malaysian pair, supported by a partisan home crowd, fought back heroically. The Indian pair was pushed to their limits as the game extended into extra points. At 24-24, Satwik and Chirag held their nerve, showcasing exceptional reflexes and court awareness to clinch the first game 26-24 after a gripping 28-minute battle.
The Malaysian pair began the second game with renewed vigour, seizing the lead early and maintaining it until the mid-game interval. At 11-11, Satwik and Chirag, the Commonwealth and Asian Games medallists, changed gear, finding their rhythm and executing a series of well-coordinated smashes and deceptive drops. What followed was a display of dominance as the Indian duo claimed 13 of the next 17 points. Their ability to adapt under pressure and capitalize on crucial moments proved to be the game-changer of the match, while they closed it out 21-15 at the end and sealed their pass to the semis.
Double Olympic medallists Satwik-Srikant played in the first semifinal matchup against South Koreans Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo, who were doubles runners-up two years ago during the Malaysia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 competition.
Reflecting on their performance, the Indian duo said, "Great start to the year, we couldn't have started on a better note. We want to go as deep in the tournament as possible."
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are the only Indian pair in contention at the Malaysia Open after singles stars Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, Priyanshu Rajawat, Malvika Bansod, Akarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyayay, and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tresha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were knocked out in the first two rounds.
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