Shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Saturday reached the final of the ongoing BWF French Open tournament after beating the South Korean pair of Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho. The Indian pair defeated the Koreans 21-18, 21-14 in a match that lasted 44 mins. Chirag and Satwik were dominant right from the get-go as Choi and Kim struggled for consistency. The Commonwealth Games champions will now take part in their second BWF World Tour final, having won the India Open Super 500 tournament in January earlier this year.
Earlier, Satwik and Chirag defeated former world champions and world no.1 pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the men’s doubles quarterfinals on Friday.
Tenth-seeded Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy put on a brilliant performance to defeat top-seeded Japanese players Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi – the 2021 men’s doubles world champions – 23-21, 21-18 in 49 minutes.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who earlier this month eliminated the Japanese pair from the world championships en route to winning the bronze medal, started out strong and quickly built a 20-16 lead. Still, Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi saved four game points to tie the score at 20 all.
However, the champion Indian team of the 2022 Commonwealth Games maintained composure to grab the crucial lead.
The second game was equally exciting. Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, who are currently ranked as the top men’s doubles team in the world of badminton, were leading 18-16, but the Indian team won five straight points to win the match.
Promoted
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have got the better of the Japanese pair on three occasions from the four matches they have played with them.
(With ANI Inputs)
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