Korea Open Highlights – India’s Men’s Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched their third title in the BWF Tour in 2023. The World No.3 pair defeated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 in the final at the Korea Open 2023 on Sunday, 23rd July.
Also Read: Korea Open Highlights: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty storm into final
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty eye maiden title in Korea Open
This is the third Super 500 title of their career so far after Thailand Open 2019 and India Open 2022. In 2023, they have won Swiss Open 2023 (Super 300) and Indonesia Open 2023 (Super 1000). This is also their fourth title overall this year as they have won the Asian Badminton Championships as well.
The Indian pair started the game on bad note. The Indonesian pair raced away to a 11-4 game at mid-game interval. The Indonesian pair continued to lead and was dominating 19-10. However with six successive points, the Indian pair reduced the deficit to just three points. Their run of six points was broken after Satwik hits wide. This soon broke the momentum and the Indonesians won the first game 21-17.
Both the pairs started the second game on an even note. From 6-6, the Indians slowly began to dominate. They managed to enter the interval 11-8. The Indian duo started to attack and soon began to dominate the proceedings. They went on to grab nine game points and squandered two before Chirag sent one down the middle to take the match to the decider.
In the third game too Chirag and Satwik began to take control of the proceedings. They eked out a 9-6 lead before going into the interval at 11-8. They continued to put pressure on the Indonesians and extended their lead to 18-12 . A net-error from Fajar Alfian handed over seven match points to the Indians. The Indonesian pair saved one but a service error helped the Indians clinch the contest.
After the victory, the Indian pair are expected to rise to the second spot in the BWF Rankings on Monday.
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