Double Delight

Lakshya Sen stuns reigning singles world champ Loh Kean Yew while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty shock three-time doubles world champions Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Satiawan to bag maiden titles at India’s flagship tournament

World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and the top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced superlative performances to claim their maiden titles at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open on a Super Sunday for the host nation.

While Sen secured his maiden Super 500 title with a stunning 24-22, 21-17 victory over world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, Satwik and Chirag became the first team from the country to win India’s flagship tournament after registering a 21-16, 26-24 result over three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.

For the 20-year-old Sen, who had claimed his maiden world championships medal in Spain, it was a repeat of last year’s Dutch Open final, but the Indian ensured that he has the last laugh this time around, after the 54-minute summit clash here.

“It was a crucial first game. I was leading and then it became 20-20. But I managed to pull out the first game and it gave me a lot of confidence,” Sen said. “I didn’t come with a lot of expectations in this tournament as I didn’t get a lot of practice after the world championships. But I came into the final with a much better rhythm as I played a few good three-game matches and I played more freely today.” Satwik and Chirag, on the other hand, came into the final with a 1-3 head-to-head record against their fancied opponents, but they showed nerves of steel and saved five game points to overcome the world No. 2 Indonesian pair.

“We couldn’t really get a title or a final last year, but coming to our country and winning a title is a good start to the year,” Chirag said. “It is special to win against our idols. Playing against our comfort zone and winning it in a way that we generally play is something which we will take back from this win.

“It was one of the best game’s strategically...even when we won a medal at Commonwealth Games or Thailand Open title, we stuck to things we were good at, which is attack, but today we won on our defensive game.”

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