Satwik-Chirag end 2-year title drought
NEW DELHI, June 1 -- As Muhammad Shohibul Fikri's return went into the net, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy fell to the floor. Chirag Shetty performed his traditional "shut the noise" gig by putting both his index fingers into his ears.
Shetty then jumped onto Rankireddy, who lifted his partner before they broke into their celebratory dance with Shetty removing his jersey at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Indian badminton fans had missed these scenes for two years as it was exactly 24 months ago that Rankireddy and Shetty had last won a title (2024 Thailand Open). After coming close many times since then - including three finals - the ace Indian doubles duo finally ended the wait when they clinched the title at the Singapore Open by beating Indonesian third seeds Fajar Alfian and Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in an hour and 13 minutes in the final.
"It's been a while since I've shown my body. Finally, all the viewers in the stadium, back home, across the world, saw it. I hope they were happy. I have put in a lot of effort in the gym to make it good," an elated Shetty joked.
"But jokes aside, really happy. Two years. we knew that eventually the title will come. We had that belief. It was just a matter of time and finally we got it. It was a very intense. We knew when we got on to the court that it will be a cracker of a game. Both sides will give their best and I knew that the match will go on till the very end."
In a spectacular show of resilience, tactical brilliance and raw energy, the Indian pair fought back from a game down in a thrilling final. Rankireddy and Shetty delivered a masterclass just 24 hours after they snapped the 34-match undefeated streak of world No.1 Korean pair Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae, who are world and All England champions.
The second victory in four meetings against the world No.3 Indonesians on Sunday also gave the world No.4 pair their fourth Super 750 or above titles. They had also won the 2022 and 2024 French Opens, apart from the 2023 Indonesia Open.
The Indian pair has been in solid form in the last couple of months, starting with the Thomas Cup where they helped India claim a bronze. Two weeks earlier, they finished runners-up in the Thailand Open in Bangkok.
Rankireddy and Shetty started the final by opening up a 5-2 lead, but Indonesians kept pace and went ahead to pocket the game.
The Indians then relied on their attacking instinct to win six straight points from 8-8 to take control of the second game. Though Alfian and Fikri managed to save two game points, they could not avoid the decider.
With the momentum firmly in their favour, the Indians went 11-5 up in the decider. The Indonesians closed the gap at 11-12 but Satwik and Chirag again found that extra gear to earn five match points, converting the second.
"We've played the same way from Round 1. We even lost the first game we played in Singapore. But we came back from there," said Rankireddy....
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