Ace Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came close but agonizingly fell short of winning the first title of the season in Kaula Lampur. The duo who competes in the men's doubles category were taking on the world number 1 pair of Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang of China in the Malaysia Open 2024 final on Sunday (January 14).
Even though Satwiksairaj and Chirag won the first game 21-19, their opponents first took the game into the deciding game where they won 18-21 before winning the final game and the match 17-21 in a contest that lasted 58 minutes. The Indian duo, ranked number 2 in the world, seemed as if they would take the match especially the way they played in the opening game. However, they failed to take that momentum deeper into the match.
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Satwik-Chiag Had Taken 10-3 Lead In Deciding Game
Perhaps the match will be remembered for the grit and determination that the Chinese duo showed throughout the match. Even after winning the secon game, in the deciding game, they found themselves trailing 3-10. However, they still found a way to come back into it and eventually go on to snatch the title from India. They first levelled the score at 14-14 before taking a 16-14 lead. Once victory was in their sight, even the duo who recently received the Khel Ratna Award could not stop them from going on to win the match.
The defeat means that the Indian pair have now lost four out of their five matches against this very Chinese pair. Having said that, given the way Indian duo has played over the past year and a bit, they would be determined to make a mark against this opponent thenext time they would be up against them in a tournament.