Satwik-Chirag pair finishes as India Open runner-up

Home favourites Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down in a tense final against world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Sang Jae at India Open 2024 settling for their second successive runnersup finish on SundaySatwik and Chirag the Asian Games champions lost 2115 1121 1821 to Kang and Seo after the two pairs fought for 65 minutes in what was some breathtaking badminton at the KD Jadhav Indoor stadium hereThe Indian duo which won the 2022 edition had finished second best at the Malaysia Super 1000 last week as wellSatwik and Chirag always had tough matches against their Korean rivals though they boasted a 41 headtohead count in five meetings coming into the match with the latest being at the Malaysia Open last weekThe Indian duo played some breathtaking rallies displaying amazing reflexes as they kept the Korean pair under the pump with some relentless hitting in the opening gameChirag dazzled in the front court with some brilliant net interceptions as the duo led 119 and soon jumped to 1913 after the break before pocketing the game when the Koreans netted a shotThe Indian pair made a sloppy start in the second falling behind 15 but change of pace and angled returns helped them make it 57 with Satwik standing tall at the front court and producing a net killA couple of net errors from Chirag during flat exchanges gave the Koreans a sixpoint advantageThe Koreans defended well while Indias attack seemed to lose a bit of sting as Kang and Seo grabbed a 10point advantage at 155 Kang stepped up with his serve and showed good variations The Koreans held 10 game points and they converted in the second chance to roar back into the contestIn the decider the Koreans kept a high tempo with Kang flying across the front court as they lead 95 The Koreans didnt allow the Indians to play their attacking gameAnother exciting rally ensued with the Indians finding the net as Kang and Seo grabbed a fivepoint cushion at the intervalAfter the change of sides Satwik stepped up at the front court as the momentum seemed to change in Indias favour with the Korean committing a service error and then finding the netThe Koreans opted for low serve but Chirag was upto the task as they brought the equation down to two points at 1315 soon Satwik then sent one to the corners while Chirag unleashed a smash as one point separated the two pairs at 1516A superb low shot from forehand corner from Satwik was negated by Chirags net error Kang then sent one down the line to put themselves two point away from the titleKang found the net next while Chirag dominated a flat exchange as it was 1819 The Koreans grabbed two championships point when Satwik sent one wideIt was all over when Chirag sent one to the net and fell on the floorAlso Read Satwiksairaj Rankireddy creates Guinness world record with fastest badminton hitTai Tzu Shi Yu Qi win womens and mens singles titlesAn inspired Tai Tzu Ying secured her first womens singles India Open 2024 title with a dominating 2116 2112 win over Chen Yu Fei while world no 2 Shi Yu Qi outwitted giantkiller Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 2321 2117 in a tense battle to reclaim the mens singles crownThe former world number one from Chinese Taipei who is set to retire after this season used her cross court smashes and delightful drops to completely outplay her Chinese rival 2116 2112 in the summit clash which was a rematch of the Tokyo Olympic finalOn that evening the Chinese had the last laugh but Tai Tzu on Sunday showed why she is revered as one of the greatest players of the game with a masterclass performance at the KD Jadhav Indoor stadium hereEarlier Thailands Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai claimed the Mixed Doubles title defeating World No 5 duo Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China 2116 2116 in the final of Super 750 badminton tournamentJapans Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara were crowned womens doubles champions after they beat World Championships bronze medallist Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu of China in the final 2112 2113With agency inputs