Badminton: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty Achieve Crowing Glory With Asian Games Gold

Star men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty earned India's first-ever badminton gold medal at the Asian Games with a straight-game win over South Korea's Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in Hangzhou on Sunday. World number 3 Satwik and Chirag, who had become the first Indians to win the Asian championships in 58 years in March this year, extended their sensational run with a 21-18 21-16 win over Choi and Kim, ranked 15th, to achieve their crowing glory. It was also India's first medal in men's doubles in 41 years since Leroy D'sa and Pradeep Gandhe won a bronze in 1982 edition. (Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

The medal ensured India's best-ever performance at the continental champions as they ended with three medals -- a men's doubles gold and a men's team silver and a men's singles bronze.

India had won a silver and bronze in the 2018 edition at Jakarta, while bagging five bronze at the 1982 edition.

Satwik and Chirag will become world no. 1 team when BWF releases the ranking chart on Tuesday.

The Indians came into the summit clash with a 2-0 head-to-head count against their opponent. It seemed like a tricky affair as Satwik and Chirag lagged in most part of the opening game which saw both teams producing an immaculate display of attack.

However, the Indian duo kept snapping at the heels of the Koreans and pipped them after overturning a four-point deficit in the opening game in the final moments.

Thereafter, it was a commanding show as Satwik and Chirag slowed down the rallies and kept their nose ahead right from the start to come up trumps.

It was a slugfest from the beginning as the two pairs engaged in a battle of supremacy. The Koreans were up 6-3 with the Indians