India's ace men's doubles badminton team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have reached a career-best world number three ranking after their maiden Super 1000 title at the Indonesia Open. The Indian duo defeated the reigning world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in straight games, making them the first Indian pair to claim a Super 1000 event.
Satwik and Chirag have had an outstanding 2023 so far, having won two World Tour titles, the Swiss Open and a gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships.
In men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth climbed three places to reach the top 20, securing the world number 19 position. Lakshya Sen closely follows him at world number 18, moving up by two places. HS Prannoy, who lost to the world number one Victor Axelsen in the semifinals, is the highest-ranked Indian in men's singles, holding onto the world number nine spot.
1/9:Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty win historic Indonesia Open title
2/9:History created
<p>The star Indian badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history by winning the men's doubles title at the Indonesia Open on Sunday. <br /></p>
3/9:First Indian doubles pair
<p>The World No. 6 Satwik and Chirag became the first Indian doubles pair to claim a Super 1000 event. <br /></p>
4/9:Straight games victory
<p>The duo emerged victorious against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yika of Malaysia in straight games 21-17, 21-18 in an intense contest that lasted 43 minutes. <br /></p>
5/9:First win in 11 matches
<p>The magnitude of the result can be gauged from the fact that this was the first time Satwiksairaj and Chirag are beating Aaron and Soh in 11 attempts. <br /></p>
6/9:'We played amazing badminton'
<p>"We had prepared very well for this event. We knew the crowd will be supporting us. They have supported us all week. This has been amazing week for us. We played amazing badminton today," said Satwiksairaj. <br /></p>
7/9:Another feather in their caps
<p>They added another accolade to their careers after winning a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and bronze at the world championships last year. <br /></p>
8/9:Another first
<p>Earlier, the 2022 world championships bronze medallists had become the first ever Indian pair to reach the final of any Super 1000 tournament. <br /></p>
9/9:Sensational victory in semis
<p>The duo made a sensational comeback to get the better of the Korean combination of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a thrilling semi-final. <br /></p>Rising Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat achieved a career-high ranking of world number 30, climbing four places. Overall, four Indians are currently ranked within the top 30 in men's singles.
In women's singles, PV Sindhu managed to arrest her slide and moved up two places to become world number 12. Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal rose to world number 31, moving up by one place.
In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand retained their 16th place in the rankings, while Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam slipped two places to 41st.
In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy climbed two places to be world number 33. Tanisha Crasto and Ishan Bhatnagar slipped one place and are now world number 38.
(With agency inputs)
