Satwiksairaj Rankireddy - Chirag Shetty win Thailand Open, reclaim top ranking

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty triumphed to win the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament for the second time, beating the Chinese pairing of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the final on Sunday. Satwik and Chirag will return to top of the men’s doubles rankings as a result.

The top seeds won 21-15, 21-15 in 46 minutes to add to the good memories they have attached with Bangkok. The duo had won their first Superseries/Super 500 level title in 2019 at the Thailand Open. In 2022, India won the historic Thomas Cup team competition also in the same city.

“It has been a lucky tournament for us. The journey started from here. We lifted this title in 2019 and again we are lifting it here now. After 2019, we went on to win many tournaments and, hopefully, it will give more boost to us in the upcoming important tournaments,” Satwik said after the win.

“They keep on playing fast and we knew we couldn’t relax. Overall, I think it’s the best match we played throughout the tournament. We kept everything calm and under control. So really happy that we played well.”

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 🏆

📸: @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @Arunlakhanioffi #ThailandOpen2024#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/f8lBNVHLWx

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Asked about Paris Olympics, Shetty said: “Not just us but all athletes want to go out there in the Olympics and win that medal and we too want that and hopefully we will play well there.”

It is Shetty and Rankireddy’s second title of the year, having won the French Open in March. They had also finished runners-up at Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750.

The Thailand Open title comes at a crucial point for Satwik and Chirag who had suffered series of disappointing results recently. The Indian pair lost in the second round at the All England Championships and then missed the Asia Championships due to an injury to Satwik. The Thomas Cup team tournament was also not too fruitful as they lost a couple of narrow matches to top pairs.

In the summit clash on Sunday, the Indians continued their dominance that had been visible all week, as they finished the tournament without dropping a game.

The breezy triumph this week at the Thailand Open comes in sharp contrast to their thrilling run in 2019. The pairs they have beaten this tournament, without dropping a game, were ranked 71, 69, 64, 80 and 29 in the world.

The Indian team’s dominance can be ascertained by the fact that they most points they have conceded this tournament had been 16.

The Indians didn’t allow the Chinese team to get into long rallies or sustain any pressure.

SatChi clinch the Thailand Open Title and move up to the WR1 again 🔥

A fiery SatChi leave no stone unturned in their route to clinch the Thailand Open Title as they win against Chen/Liu in straight games to clinch the Thailand Open Title for the second time
21-15,21-15 pic.twitter.com/HF7HSMiIx9

— Just Badminton (@BadmintonJust) May 19, 2024

Satwik and Chirag made a superb start by quickly opening up a 5-1 lead. Chen and Liu clawed back with a four-point burst.

At 7-7, the Chinese pair won a 39-shot rally and surged ahead to 10-7 before spraying one long. Liu and Chen played a few intense rallies but Chirag unleashed a bullet return to draw level at 10-10 but Liu ensured they had a slender edge at the break.

Satwik and Chirag moved to 14-11 after resumption before Satwik sliced one to net. The Indians extended the lead to 16-12. Liu sent a lob over Satwik’s head to set up a point, while Chirag sprayed into net as the Chinese kept snapping at their heels.

However, the Indians soon grabbed five game points with Satwik sending one to the corner and then dishing out another superb service which the Chinese could only bury into the net.

The Indians made a solid 8-3 start after the change of sides and maintained the five-point cushion at the interval when the Chinese dumped one into the net.

Chen and Liu registered three straight points but Satwik broke the run of play with an aggressive return. At 15-11, Satwik received warning for delaying the game and with Chirag overhitting twice, Chen and Liu moved to 14-15.

But the Indians dashed any hopes of a mutiny with Chirag setting up a point with a fine placement and Satwik providing the finishing touch as they moved to 17-15.

Satwik then unleashed a barrage of smashes to grab five match points. The Chinese sent Chirag’s smash into the net. As part of celebrations, Satwik broke into a dance with his racquet, while Chirag threw his shirt into the crowd.

Chirag hoped the win would spur the youngsters to put in the hard yards and dream big.

“Not just the men’s doubles, doubles in general, I know such wins give a lot of boost to the youngsters back home, to push themselves and not be satisfied,” Chirag said.

“A lot of people thought the Chinese or Indonesians are notches above us but the way we have been playing the last couple of years, it definitely gives the youngsters a chance to rethink and beat the best players in the world.”

(with inputs from PTI)