Thailand Open: Satwik-Chirag clinch men’s doubles crown without dropping a game
New Delhi, May 19: Top seeds and India's star badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched their second Thailand Open Super 500 men's doubles crown after beating the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the summit clash, on Sunday.
In what was their fourth final of the season, the world No. 3 Indian pair defeated the world No. 29 Chinese duo in straight games 21-15, 21-15 in 46 minutes, their longest match of the tournament, to claim their second Thailand Open title.
The duo haven't dropped a game enroute to their second title of the year, having won the French Open Super 750 tournament in March. Overall, it was their fourth Super 500 crown.
The world no. 3 Indian pair, who had won their first Thailand Open crown back in 2019, rarely looked under pressure against their opponents throughout the tournament and showed the same domination in the final as they defeated China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi within an hour.
Moreoever, prior to their tittle-winning match, their lengthiest match all week lasted for just 38 minutes.
The Indian pair started the final by opening up a 5-1 lead before the Chinese had their best phase of the summit clash as they won nine of the next 11 points. But Chirag and Satwik wrested control with some aggressive play and packed the opening game rather easily.
The eventual champions always had the upper hand in the second game and just like the first game they won five consecutive points at the end to kick off their trademark celebrations.
"Thailand Open has been a special tournament for us as we won our first Super 500 crown here and have won many more tournaments thereafter. We are hoping that this victory will start another winning run for us," said Satwik after clinching the crown.
Speaking about their performance in the final, Satwik said they played their best game against their Chinese opponents. "We knew that we cannot relax even for a single point against our opponents as they fight till the end. But we played our best game of the tournament today and controlled the situation very well," he added.
The victory also helped the Indian pair earn 9200 ranking points and prize purse of USD 33180 (approx. Rs 27,63,306.40).