NEW DELHI: Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Saturday secured a spot in the Thailand Open badminton tournament final, defeating Lu Ming-Che and Tang Kai-Wei of Chinese Taipei in straight games.
The game, held at Bangkok's Nimibutr Stadium, was a quick affair as the Indian duo blew away their opponents in only 35 minutes.
Chirag and Satwik, who had previously won the Asian Games gold medal, showcased their superiority over their world No. 80 opponents, winning the semifinal 21-11, 21-12.
The duo has a deep relation with Thailand as it was here five years back in 2019 that they had won their maiden super 500 crown. On Saturday, the Indian pair inched closer to regaining the title after reaching the summit clash again.
The Indian pair thus continued to make waves in the BWF World Tour after progressing to their fourth final of the season. The duo had finished runner-up at Malaysia super 1000 and India super 750 before claiming the French super 750 in March.
In the final on Sunday, the world number three Indian duo, the top seeds in this tournament, will be up against the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi, who defeated Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang of South Korea 21-19 21-18 in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Satwik and Chirag had some low returns in the last couple of tournaments. The Indian pair lost in the second round at All England Championships and then missed the Asia Championships due to an injury to Satwik. The Thomas Cup campaign was also not too fruitful as they lost a couple of narrow matches to top pairs. The final appearance will thus provide a major boost ahead of the Paris Olympics.
On Saturday, Satwik and Chirag were not really tested by Lu and Tang, who played well only in patches but lacked the aggression and accuracy to trouble the Indians, who were a cut above their rivals.
In the opening game, Satwik and Chirag were up 3-0 but the Taiwanese pair managed to make it 5-4 before they started leaking points. Errors crept into their game as they went long a number of times, allowing the Indians to enter the break with an 11-7 lead.
Things didn't change after resumption as the Indians continued to gather point with their sharp placements. At 17-10, Chirag produced a powerpacked smash as they gained nine game points when the Chinese went out twice.
The second game began on a close note as the two pairs moves 4-4 to 6-6. Satwik also produced an ambitious behind-the-back return only to spray it wide. Leading 9-7 for the first time in the match, Lu and Tang, however, couldn't sustain the pressure as a fast and long rally ended at the nets for the Chinese.
With Lu and Tang continuing to find the going tough, it was 15-10 in favour of the Indians, who grabbed 8 match points when the Chinese made another soft error at the net.
Chirag then stood at the front court and sealed it with a barrage of fast returns.
In the women's doubles, the fourth-seeded Indian pair of Tanisha Carsto and Ashwini Ponnappa will face top seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand in the semifinals later on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
