Indonesia Open 2023: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Oust Kang-Seo to Storm Into Final

India’s badminton star pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the South Korean duo of M.H Kang and S. J. Seo in the semi-final of the Indonesian Open 2023 in Jakarta on Saturday to claim their place in the final.

For the Indian pair, it was a historic achievement as Satwik-Chirag entered their first-ever BWF World Tour Super 1000 final, defeating their opponents 18-21, 21-19, 21-18.

The contest lasted for a total of 67 minutes including a thrilling third set wherein the scores were tied 16-16 at one point after which the Indian shuttlers opened up three match-point opportunities, racing into a 20-16 lead.

Satwik and Chirag had defeated their Korean opponents on two occasions and with their victory on June 17, they lead 3-1 in terms of head-to-head.

In total the Indian duo won 59 points, they also racked up 7 consecutive points during the encounter earning a hard-fought comeback win.

In the previous round, Satwik and Chirag defeated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21-13, 21-13 in 41 minutes to progress to the final four.

Currently ranked sixth on the BWF rankings, the Indian duo began their Indonesia Open with a walkover after their opponents T Popov and C Popov from France retired in a game the Satwik and Chirag were leading 21-12, 11-7.

In the pre-quarterfinal, Chirag and Satwik stormed past the Chinese duo of H.D Zhou and J.T He winning 21-17, 21-15.

World No 6 Satwik and Chirag will face the winners Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan of Indonesia and second seeds Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh of Malaysia.

The men’s doubles began on an even keel before the Korean pair surged ahead to 6-3.

Once they conceded the lead, Satwik and Chirag were forced to play a catch-up game.

The Indians used their aggressive play to reduce the margin to 15-19 and then 17-20 before Kang and Seo kept their composure to pocket the first game, courtesy an unforced error.

The Indians looked more purposeful after the change of ends and took an early 6-3 lead before racing to 11-4 with a flurry of fast paced shots and body smashes in the second game.

Satwik and Chirag were also helped by some bad line calls and unforced errors from the Koreans.

But Kang and Seo didn’t give up and clawed their way back in the game to reduce the gap to 18-15.

But the Indians managed to hold on to their nerves and played sensibly to pocket the second game and level the scores.

The decider went neck and neck till the first five points before Satwik and Chirag pocketed seven straight points to race to 12-5 lead.

The Koreans tried hard to bounce back and at one time levelled the scores at 16-16 but that is when Satwik and Chirag stepped it up and closed out the game and the match.

The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300 in order. One other 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.

With inputs from PTI