The champion India duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the India Open final in New Delhi on Sunday, January 21 as they clinched silver medal. Chirag-Satwik duo came second against the Republic of Korea duo of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, the reigning world champions 21-15, 11-21, 18-21.
It was Chirag-Satwik's second successive appearance in the badminton final in 2024, a week after a loss in the summit clash in the Malaysia Open against the World No.1 Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. On Sunday, the game began with counter-attacking badminton for Chirag and Satwik which saw them seal the first game within 18 minutes.
At halftime, it was almost level with the Korean duo at 11-9 in India's favour before the duo extended the lead to 19-13 in no time before sealing the first game. Almost opposite took place in the second game with Min Hyuk and Seung Jae fighting back and forcing errors from the Indian duo. The duo had survived such attack against this very pair last week in the Malaysia Open to win the semi-final but not this time as the Koreans made it a 18-8 lead in no time to win the second game.
Min Hyuk and Seung Jae continued the strong show in the decider and had an 11-6 lead at the halfway mark before the Indians struck back. Chirag and Satwik won four points in a row to reduce the gap, however, the Koreans were still ahead and eventually won the clash 21-18 with a three-point lead.
India Open winners
- Men’s singles: Shi Yu Qi (People’s Republic of China)
- Women’s singles: Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
- Men’s doubles: Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae (South Korea)
- Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)
- Women’s doubles: Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara (Japan)
