India open: Satwik-Chirag falter in final again for second runners-up finish in two weeks

Tribune News Service

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, January 21

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was desperate to win in front of home fans because the last time he and Chirag Shetty were crowned India Open champions, the tournament was held amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. The dream this time was to win again with the home crowd watching.

Overall we are sad, losing the final in our home tournament but there are a lot of positives, the last two weeks have been really good. We are still hungry and not satisfied. We will start off again in the next few days for All England and French Open — Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

With the KD Jadhav hall almost full — over a thousand fans came to see an encore from the Indian pair — Satwiksairaj and Chirag came close but failed to overcome South Koreans Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae.

The night started well for Satwiksairaj and Chirag as they bulldozed their way to winning the opening game 21-15. But they lost their way in the next two games, losing 11-21 18-21 to finish runners-up.

This was the second time in two weeks that the Indians failed to cross the final hurdle, having lost in the final of the Malaysia Open. Interestingly, Satwiksairaj and Chirag had defeated the South Korean pair in straight games in the semifinals of the Malaysia Open.

After frequent change of serves, the Indians pulled away by winning seven straight points, most of which were won with Chirag’s phenomenal interceptions at the net that opened up a smash or induced an error from the Koreans. Once in the lead, Chirag and Satwiksairaj never looked like conceding it and they closed the game comfortably.

However, a shift in strategy worked wonders for the Koreans, who started pacing their strokes. Leading 5-1, Chirag and Satwiksairaj started committing errors at the net. Nervousness took over and the Indians started leaking easy points. In no time, the Koreans won the game and drew level.

The third and deciding game was a mixed bag as the Indians led 3-2, with a sublime drop from Chirag. However, the Koreans first drew parity with a far court return and then followed it up by a smash winner to get their noses ahead. At the interval, they had a sizable lead of 11-6.

Chirag and Satwiksairaj did make a comeback and were within a point of the Koreans at 15-16. But every time they would come near, the Koreans found an opening to eventually seal the title.

“We started off quite well in the first game but in the second we couldn’t really start well, and in no time we were down 5-11. From then on, it was quite difficult to come back and yes they were quite a formidable defensive pair,” Satwiksairaj said.

“Overall we are sad, losing the final in our home tournament but there are a lot of positives, the last two weeks have been really good. We are still hungry and not satisfied. We will start off again in the next few days for All England and French Open,” he added.

Tai, Shi win

Tai Tzu Ying won her first singles India Open title with a commanding win over Chen Yu Fei. Tai Tzu, who is set to retire after this season, beat the reigning Olympics champion 21-16 21-12.

In the men’s singles final, China’s Shi Yu Qi beat Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu 23-21 21-17.

Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China 21-16 21-16 to win the mixed doubles crown. The women’s doubles title was won by Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, who beat the Chinese pair of Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu 21-12 21-13.

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