Chirag-Satwik become the first Indian men’s pair to clinch gold in the Badminton Asia Championships
A memorable day for the Indians as the pride of India Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy became the first-ever Indian pair to clinch gold in the men’s doubles category in the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships held at the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai.
With this remarkable feat, the duo ended India’s long wait for a medal in this category with the last one coming 58 years ago. The journey for the iconic pair was not looking easy with some great pairs looking dangerous with their display but the champions from India outclassed their opponents quite easily.
Road to the Gold Medal
The first round against Tan Kiang Meng/Tan Wee Kiong was an easy affair as the Indian duo defeated them in straight games 21-14, 21-17 to enter the next round. Chirag and Satwik were even better in the second round by beating Jin Yong/Na Sung Seung by 21-18, 21-12. This ended the journey of the South Korean pair and the Indian giants enter the quarters.
quarter-finals was a tough ask for the duo with Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia being their opponent. The Indian pair defeated them in the first round 21-17 to make their intentions clear, however, a remarkable comeback from Ahsan and Setiawan made things tough for the Indian duo. The intent was so clear from Chirag and Satwik that even after the second game went down to the wire, the duo snatched it well, in the end, to finish things off with the scoreline of 22-20.
Now, it was time for the semi-final where Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin was waiting for the Indian star duo to beat them. Like every match, Chirag and Satwik started off really well by winning the first round 21-18. The next game was going pretty well for the Taiwanese pair but unfortunately, the duo had to retire with Wang Chi Lin getting injured. The Indian pair got a walkover and marched into the finals.
The final was the only match for the Indian pair where it went down to three games. Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia were clear favorites for the match but the hopes were high for the Indian duo after their spectacular journey.
After being defeated in the first game by 16-21, Chirag and Satwik had no chance but to give their everything in the next one. They did that in a splendid way and produced one of the finest comebacks in the history of Indian Badminton. The duo won their next games 21-1 and 21-19 to create history. With this, they gave India a gold medal after 58 years in the Badminton Asia Championships.
The first-ever gold for the country in the prestigious tournament came in the year 1965 with Dinesh Khanna winning a gold in men’s singles. And now with Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy creating history, the duo have made every Indian proud.
Now, the duo of Chirag and Satwik would want to keep their remarkable form in the upcoming tournaments as well. This has been a phenomenal year so far for them and with multiple tournaments lined up, the pair would want to achieve heights from here.
Other performances by the Indians in the tournament
PV Sindhu ended India’s hopes for a medal in Women’s Singles in the quarter-final
Other than the gold-medal winning pair, none of the other baddies from India made it to the finals in any of the categories. India’s star in Women’s Singles, PV Sindhu crashed out from the tournament on Friday in the quarter-finals whereas Saina Nehwal opted out of the tournament at the last moment.
Another singles player, Malvika Binod gave a tough fight to Akane Yamaguchi in the first round as she lost her battle by 23-25, 19-21. This performance must have given her confidence going forward.
In Men’s Singles, HS Prannoy also bowed out in the quarter-final after pulling out of his match against Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan midway through. On the other hand, Lakshya Sen had a terrible tournament too as he crashed out in the opening match against Loh Kean Yew 7-21, 21-23.
There were high hopes from Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as they have tasted success on crucial occasions in the past. But the pair couldn’t win a medal for their country this time as they were knocked out after winning their first round by 17-21, 21-17, 21-18.