India Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Pair Ends 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, settling for their second successive runners-up finish in New Delhi 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 Jadhav Indoor stadium. The Indian duo, which won the 2022 edition, had finished second best 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 five 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 helped 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