India Open: Satwik-Chirag storm into final after rocking Malaysian duo in straight games; erratic Prannoy crashes out

Continuing their impressive run, Asian Games gold medallists duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty thrashed Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in straight games to march into India Open 2024's men's doubles final. The dashing pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bulldozed Malaysian duo with a scoreline of 21-18, 21-14 in the India Open's semifinals held at the IG Stadium in New Delhi on January 20.

The world no. 2 duo delivered a resilient performance against the fourth-seeded Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, overcoming a streak of eight consecutive losses to them with this stunning victory. This win marked their third consecutive triumph. The Indian pair is set to play in their second final in just eight days, following their recent finalist position at the Malaysia Open. Following H. S. Prannoy’s disappointing loss in semifinal, the victory by Chirag and Satwik brought some consolation to the audience. They made an impressive comeback from 10-13 down in the second game, clinching the last six points shortly after Chirag’s tap inadvertently hit Aaron Chia in the eye.

Making their second India Open final, the formidable Indian pair will face off against the world's No. 3 South Korean team, Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, in the upcoming match at IG Stadium in New Delhi.

Elsewhere, other Indian shuttler HS Prannoy went down to China's world no. 2 Shi Yu Qi, resulting in his exit from the India Open after a straight-set loss in the semifinals. Initially, the world no. 9 Indian kept pace with his opponent, but the match shifted dramatically after a 14-14 tie in the first game. From there, Prannoy's performance waned, leading to Shi Yu Qi securing a dominant 21-15, 21-5 victory in a one-sided match at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

“I think the first game was pretty poised out there, but I gave away two or three more points in that process. Also, in the second game, I knew there was some slight pull on the quads, and I was not able to move really well and hence couldn't push the second game. The whole credit goes to Shi Yu Qi is a very good quality player out there and has got a lot of good shots from the back of the court and sharp shots coming full game,” HS Prannoy said post match.

“I am happy that I could reach the Semi-Finals, but I definitely have a long way to go out there and win tournaments. There's a lot of work that needs to be done,” he added.

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