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, settling for their second successive runners-up finish, here Sunday.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games Champions, lost 21-15, 11-21, 18-21 to Kang and Seo after the two pairs fought for 65 minutes in what was some breath-taking badminton at the KD Yadav Indoor Stadium here.
The Indian duo, which won the 2022 edition, had finished second based at the Malaysia Super 1000 last week as well.
Satwik and Chirag always had tough matches against their Korean rivals though they boasted a 4-1 head-to-head count in 5 meetings coming into the match with the latest being at the Malaysia Open last week.
The Indian duo played some breath-taking rallies, displaying amazing reflexes as they kept the Korean pair under the pump with some relentless hitting in the opening game.
Chirag dazzled in the front court with some brilliant net interceptions as the duo led 11-9 and soon jumped to 19-13 after the break before pocketing the game when the Koreans netted a shot.
The Indian pair made a sloppy start in the second, falling behind 1-5 but change of pace and angled returns help them make it 5-7 with Satwik standing tall at the front court and producing a net kill.
A couple of net errors from Chirag during flat exchanges gave the Koreans a six-point advantage.
The Koreans defended well, while India’s attack seemed to lose a bit of sting as Kang and Seo grabbed a 10 point advantage at 15-5. 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 contest.
In the decider, the Koreans kept a high tempo with Kang flying across the front court as they lead 9-5. The Koreans didn’t allow the Indians to play their attacking game.
Tai Tzu, Shi Yu Qi win singles titles: An inspired Tai Tzu Ying secured her first women’s singles India Open title with a dominating 21-16, 21-12 win over Chen Yu Fei, while world no. 2 Shi Yu Qi outwitted giant-killer Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong King 23-21, 21-17 in a tense battle to reclaim the men’s singles crown.
Tai Tzu, the 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 21-16, 21-12 in the summit clash which was a rematch of the Tokyo Olympic final.