India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history by winning their first BWF World Tour title of 2023 after defeating China’s Tan Qiang and Ren Xiang Yu in the Swiss Open 2023 men’s doubles final on Sunday.
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Commonwealth Games 2022 champions Satwik-Chirag defeated the Chinese pair 21-19, 24-22 in a thrilling 54-minute title clash. Earlier, Satwik-Chirag had defeated the Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in the Swiss Open 2023 semi-finals.
In the first game, the Indian pair start the match with strong intent and took an 18-13 lead. When Satwik-Chirag were just three points away from winning the game, the Chinese duo put up a brilliant defense to take the score to 18-17. Ren-Tan scored three more points before the end of the game. But Chirag’s brilliant shot selection gave India a 21-19 victory.
The Chinese pair, who found momentum in the latter part of the first game, scored consecutive points in the second game. Though Satwik-Chirag led 11-9 at the break. When India were just one point away from winning the championship at 20-19, the shuttle hit the net and fell into the Indian camp, leveling the scores at 20-20. Ren-Tan even took a 22-21 lead at one stage but could not convert it into victory. On the other hand, Satwik-Chirag grabbed the title by scoring three consecutive points. In this way, India won by a combination of attack and defense.
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This is the first title of the season for India. Earlier in the All-England Championship, the Indian pair had crashed out in the second round. Overall, it was the fifth World Tour title for the Indian pair. Last year, the pair had also won the India Open and the French Open. Achieving that kind of form once again, the duo won the title at the Swiss Open. They also won Thailand Open and Hyderabad Open. Apart from this, in 2022, both of them also won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games.
