Paris (The Hawk): In the men's doubles final on Sunday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India defeated Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in a straight-game victory to claim the French Open Super 750 title.
The world number 8 pair, who had placed second in the 2019 competition, used their fearsome attack to outwit the 25th-ranked Lu and Yang in the summit match's 48-minute duration to defeat them 21-13, 21-19.
Thus, the Indian duo carried on their unstoppable year, which saw them win the Indian Open super 500 crown, the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, the Thomas Cup, and an unheard-of bronze medal at the World Championships in August.
Following this year's India Open Super 500 and the 2019 Thailand Open Super 500, it marks the pair's third world tour victory. They are the first Indian team to triumph in a super 750 competition.
Satwik and Chirag prevailed in a matchup between two attacking teams because they displayed superior tactical knowledge and a desire to rule supreme over their opponents.
The Indian team started off strong and quickly built a 5-0 advantage. They continued to advance, denying their adversary any chance to mount a retaliation.
Finally, Satwik's outstanding serve allowed them to take a six-point lead into the halftime break.
After several uneventful rallies, the Indian pair gained seven opportunities for game-winning points, and Chirag converted the first one to secure the victory.
The Taipei pair needed a strong start in the second game, and they at first appeared competitive, but the Indian couple once more made sure they had a six-point lead at the half.
However, as Lu and Yang began to take charge of the rallies, cutting it down to 10–12, the Indians were guilty of taking their foot off the gas.
The run of points was interrupted by a Lu Ching Yao service blunder, but they quickly restored parity at 14-14 when Chirag went long. Chirag made a few errors, including a service blunder, which gave the advantage to the Taipei combination.
After Yang missed a shot from the net and the Indians won a lucky net chord, the score was shortly tied at 19-19.
Satwik's thunderous smash gave them one match point, and his attacking return secured the victory.
(Inputs from Agencies)

In the men's doubles final on Sunday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India defeated Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in a straight-game victory to claim the French Open Super 750 title.

French Open badminton: Satwik and Chirag win the men's doubles championship

Saarbrucken, Germany (The Hawk): After a spirited victory in the women's doubles category on Friday, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semifinals of the Hylo Open Super 300 badminton tournament.
In the quarterfinals, Thailand's eighth-seeded Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard defeated Chinese Taipei's Hsu Ya Ching and Lin Wan Ching (ranked 65) 21-17, 18-21, 21-8. This victory moved Treesa and Gayatri up to world No. 28 in the rankings.
However, in a match in the last eight, the top men's doubles team from India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, lost 17-21, 14-21 to the seventh-seeded English team, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.
Malvika Bansod lost to world number 21 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the women's singles match by scores of 17-21, 10-21.
(Inputs from Agencies)

After a spirited victory in the women's doubles category on Friday, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semifinals of the Hylo Open Super 300 badminton tournament.

Hylo Open badminton: Satwik-Chirag exit, Treesa-Gayatri advances to the semifinals

Jakarta: Asian champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty trounced world no. 1 home-favorite men's doubles pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto to enter the semifinal of the ongoing Indonesia Open, a BWF Super 1000 badminton tournament, here on Friday. The duo of Satwik and Chirag registered an easy 21-13, 21-13 victory over the Indonesians in 41 minutes. Satwik and Chirag will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Korean duo of Min Hyuk Kang and Seung Jae Seo and Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin. In the men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth' campaign came to an end in the quarterfinal after losing a hard-fought battle to China's Li Shi Feng. Srikanth suffered a 14-21, 21-14, 12-21 loss in one hour and nine minutes against world No.10 Chinese. With this win, Feng equalled the head-to-head record against Srikanth, which stands at 1-1.  Later, Malaysia Masters champion Prannoy HS got the better of world no. 4 Kodai Naraoka of Japan 21-18, 21-16 in straight games to secure his spot in the semifinals. This was Prannoy's first win over the Japanese in five meetings. The pair's last meeting was in the Singapore Open last week, where Naraoka ousted the Indian in the opening round. Prannoy will next face either top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark or third seed Taipei shuttler Chou Tien Chen.—IANS

Asian champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty trounced world no. 1 home-favorite men's doubles pair Fajar Alfian

Indonesia Open: Satwik-Chirag, Prannoy Enter Semifinal; Srikanth Crashes Out

New Delhi: India's star men's doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy achieved their new career-high ranking on Tuesday after their historic BWF Super 1000 title at the Indonesia Open. The duo toppled the reigning world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the final to win India's maiden BWF Super 1000 on Sunday. Satwik and Chirag have enjoyed a remarkable 2023 thus far, emerging victorious in two world tour tournaments which include the Swiss Open, and Indonesia Open along with securing a gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships. In men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth climbed three places to enter the top 20 with world rank of 19 while Lakshya Sen jumped two places to be ranked 18. HS Prannoy, the highest-ranked Indian men's singles player in the world, retained his position at number 9 in the world rankings following his semifinal run at the Indonesia Open. Additionally, emerging talent Priyanshu Rajawat achieved a career-best ranking of 30, making him the fourth Indian player to enter the top 30 rankings. In the women's singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu climbed two places to secure the 12th position in the world rankings. Despite her limited participation in tournaments, Saina Nehwal also managed to advance by one place, now occupying the esteemed position of world number 31. Women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand maintained their position in 16th spot in the rankings. On the other hand, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam experienced a slight decline, moving down two positions to settle at 41st place. In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy climbed two places to be world number 33. Tanisha Crasto and Ishan Bhatnagar slipped one place and are now world number 38. Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy made an ascent in the mixed doubles category, rising by two places to secure the 33rd spot in the global rankings. Conversely, Tanisha Crasto and Ishan Bhatnagar experienced a minor setback, slipping down one place to reach the world number 38 position.—IANS

India's star men's doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy achieved their new career-high ranking 

Satwik-Chirag Rise To Career-Best World No 3 In BWF Doubles Rankings

Shenzhen (China): India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out another attacking masterclass to outwit the Chinese duo of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu and storm into the men’s doubles final at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Saturday.  The former world No. 1 Indian pair, which had won its first BWF World Super 750 title at the French Open last year, notched up a 21-15 22-20 win over the newly-formed Chinese pair of He and Ren, which had a title-winning run last week at the Japan Masters.
The top seeds will face another Chinese pair in the summit clash, the winner of the other semifinal between Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi and second seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.  Satwik and Chirag have won the Badminton Asian Championships, Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, Swiss Super 300 and the Asian Games gold medal in a stellar year.
The BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300. One more category of tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.  Each of these tournaments offers different ranking points and prize money. The highest points and prize pool is offered at the Super 1000 level.
—PTI

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out another attacking masterclass to outwit the Chinese duo of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu

Satwik-Chirag duo enters China Masters Super 750 final

Kuala Lumpur: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, fueled by a hunger for victory following their recent runner-up finish at the Malaysia Open Super 1000, are determined to claim their first silverware of the new season at the upcoming India Open. The duo faced a narrow defeat in the Malaysia Open men's doubles final to world No. 1 Chinese pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, concluding a dream run with a 21-9 18-21 17-21 scoreline.  As the Asian Games gold medallists, Satwik and Chirag are positioned as top contenders for the India Open Super 750 crown set to kick off at the IG Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. Expressing their hunger for success, Satwik stated, "We want to do well in our home country next week, so we don't want to relax with this, we are more hungry, and next week also we want to do well in front of our home crowd."  Chirag emphasized the importance of focusing on the positives, stating, "We obviously could have played a lot better towards the end. I think what's important is to look at the positives also; we have played some good badminton here, but we are not done yet. India Open is coming up next week, and we want to go one better."  Despite squandering an opening game advantage and an 11-7 lead in the decider in the Malaysia Open final, the duo remains optimistic about their performance. Satwik and Chirag have faced Liang and Wang four times, securing their only victory during their title-winning run at the Korea Open Super 500 last year.  Looking ahead, Satwik expressed, "Till we retire, we will be playing against them for a long time. It is always a tough fight against them. We are happy with what we wanted to achieve; we are happy we could go deep into the tournament."  Reflecting on their recent performance, Satwik added, "I feel it is still not my 100 per cent, there is something inside me, I am not satisfied. In a few other tournaments, I felt I was 100 percent, but here we played finals, but still I felt like we played 60-70 per cent. So, if we can play our 100 per cent, then we would like to see what happens against them."  Satwik and Chirag, the most successful Indian players in the circuit last year, aim to build on their achievements, having won the Asian Games gold, titles in the Asian Championship, Indonesian Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and Swiss Open Super 300, along with reaching the finals of China Masters Super 750 in November last year.
—Input from Agencies

Satwik-Chirag, hungry for victory after Malaysia Open, eye India Open success. Asian Games gold medallists aim for redemption, top contenders in Super 750.

Satwik-Chirag Eager to Clinch India Open Title After Narrow Malaysia Open Loss

Kuala Lumpur: India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faltered at the finishing line to end their dream run at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 with a narrow loss in the men's doubles final against world No. 1 Chinese Liang Wei keng and Wang Chang here on Sunday.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games gold medallists, squandered an opening game advantage and an 11-7 lead in the decider to go down 21-9 18-21 17-21 to Liang and Wang in the summit clash which saw both the pairs displaying some exquisite strokeplay.  "We are happy with how we played in the tournament but a little disappointed that we couldn't control our nerves."  "We played under lot more pressure than them towards the end and made silly mistake but they kept pressing us. Hopefully, we will take revenge next time,' Satwik said after the match."
"I was expecting it to be tough after the change of ends. We thought we should keep 4-5 lead and it would be nice going into the last stretch. Things were a bit here and there and then they were 12-12. Same situation happened in Malaysia Open and All England last year."  It was a fourth defeat for the Indian pair against Liang and Wang, having lost three of their last four meetings -- all in 2023. The only time Satwik and Chirag had emerged victories was during their title-winning run at Korea Open Super 500 last year.  "Coach (Mathias Boe) said that we should keep the racquet up and move our foot. We knew they would come back, we should have been calmer and they played exceedingly well," Chirag said.  In fast playing conditions, the Indians dominated the proceedings early on, cruising to a 5-1 lead with the help of some angled returns and accurate placements.  Satwik and Chirag looked in complete control while their opponents were a bit nervy as they played short and pacy rallies comprising just 5-8 flat and fast shots.  The Indians had a seven-point advantage at the break when the Chinese went to the net.  The targeted returns of the Indians often left the Chinese cramped as they patrolled the front court. Soon the Indians were 18-9 up and grabbed the opening game after Liang went wide and long.  It was time for the Chinese pair to run up a 8-2 lead after the change of ends as the Indians repeatedly missed their mark. Satwik also committed a service error as the Chinese duo was 9-5 up and when Chirag mistimed a return-to-serve, it was a 11-6 advantage for Liang and Wang.  The match didn't see too many smashes as none of the pairs tried to lift and kept the shuttle flat during the rallies. The focus was to find gaps and angles without compromising on the pace.  After resumption, the Indians started to draw out errors from their opponents to make it 15-17. A short serve from Satwik gave two game points to the Chinese, and Liang sealed it with a lethal return to roar back into the contest.  The decider started with the same breathtaking speed with the Indians up 4-2 after Liang was called for a service fault for height.  Back to the winning side, the Indians once again looked ominous, waltzing away with quick points to move to 10-3 before taking a four-point cushion at the final break.
Chirag was brilliant near the net, pouncing on anything marginally weak but things started changing after resumption as Wang came to the fore, dominating the front court and soon brought things at level at 12-12 with a flick serve.  Satwik seemed to falter a bit in the end as he conceded a few points on the flat pushes. On one such occasion, when Satwik went wide during a flat exchange, the Chinese moved into a 14-13 lead for the first time.  Liang, who had looked a bit subdued till now, also found his groove just in time as the Chinese moved to 19-16.  A disguised cross court drop shot gave four championship points to the Chinese. The Indians saved one before the Chinese shut the doors on their hopes.  It was yet another creditable performance from the Indian pair, which had claimed its maiden Super 1000 crown at the Indonesia Open last June.  Satwik and Chirag will next compete at the India Open Super 750 tournament starting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
—PTI

Indian duo Satwik-Chirag's Malaysia Open Super 1000 journey concludes with a close defeat in men's doubles final against Liang Wei keng and Wang Chang.

The Hawk

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French Open badminton: Satwik and Chirag win the men's doubles championship

Pankaj Sharma

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French Open badminton: Satwik and Chirag win the men's doubles championship

Pankaj Sharma

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