A Swiss spring: Satwik-Chirag win Swiss Open title

PTI

Basel, March 26

The Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty capped off their impressive campaign with a title win, beating China’s Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament here today.

The second-seeded Indian pair was solid in defence and dished out an attacking game to outwit the world No. 21 pair 21-19 24-22 in 54 minutes.

It was the first title of the season for Satwiksairaj and Shetty, putting to rest the disappointment of last week’s All England Championships where they had exited in the second round.

Overall, it was the fifth career world tour title for the Indian pair, which had won bronze at last year’s World Championships. The duo also claimed the India Open and French Open titles last year, besides winning the Thailand Open in 2019 and Hyderabad Open in 2018. Satwiksairaj and Shetty also won the Commonwealth Games gold last year.

Their latest title also meant that India continued its love affair with the Swiss Open, with PV Sindhu (2022), Saina Nehwal (2011, 2012), Kidambi Srikanth (2015) and HS Prannoy (2016) claiming the singles crown in the past.

The two pairs had contracting journeys to the final, with Satwiksairaj and Shetty playing three three-game matches, while Tan and Ren not dropping a game.

Playing the Chinese pair for the first time, Satwiksairaj and Shetty turned up the heat at the right moments, displaying their attacking prowess and steely nerves to come out victorious.

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