KUALA LUMPUR — India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and
Chirag Shetty crashed out of the Malaysia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 event
after losing to a South Korean pair in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Indian duo lost to South Korea's Kim Won Ho and Seo
Seung Jae 10-21, 15-21 in straight games in 40 minutes. The result also ended
India's representation in the year's first Super 1000 tournament with prize
money of USD 1,450,000. Sawig-Chirag finished runner-up in the last edition of
the tournament.
The Indian duo had a slow start, trailing 6-11 in the
opening game. The Korean pair capitalised on the momentum, taking the first
game 21-10 in just 19 minutes. The seventh-seeded Indians bounced back in the
second game, leading 11-8 at the midway point. However, their advantage was
short-lived, as they eventually lost 15-21 to end their three-match winning run
in the competition.
On Friday, the Indian pair had defeated Malaysia’s Yew
Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in straight games, 26-24, 21-15, in a 49-minute
quarterfinal clash.
"We saw them playing before in the tournament and we
were prepared. But I felt they played really well today and we could have
followed a little bit of our gameplan. I felt we just played a random show. And
I mean, we shouldn't complain about anything as it's part and parcel of the
game and it's a good learning for us. We can learn so much from them because
they're playing really well," said Chirag Shetty after the match.
"So yeah, disappointed. But I mean, we have a longer
to go, overall, a good government for us. Talking of the game plan, we started
out with a lot of soft touches, you know, pushing, trying to push them. And
then there was a big shift in the second game," he said.
Earlier, Indian stars shuttlers Lakshya Sen, H.S.
Prannoy, Priyanshu Rajawat, Malvika Bansod, Akarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyayay
and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri
Gopichand were ousted in the early stages of the tournament.
Satwik-Chirag, the Asian and Commonwealth Games gold
medallists, will next compete in the India Open, starting January 14, where
they face Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee in the round of 32.
The former World No.1 pair in men's doubles has won a
bronze medal in the 2022 World Championships and will be hoping to claim their
first title of the season at home.
