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Indian shuttler duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted history as they secured their Malaysian Open 2024 final berth. The world number 2 pair came over world champions Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyukdished of Korea to make it to their first final of the 2024 season. The Sat-Chi pair made an impressive comeback after trailing at 11-18 in the second game and registered a 21-18, 22-20 win in the men’s doubles semi-final event. With their win in the semi-final, they became the first Indians in any discipline to reach the Malaysian Open final in the Open Era since 1983.
Satwik and Chirag, who were recently conferred with the highest Indian sports honour, continued their winning streak after claiming six titles in 2023. In the final encounter of the ongoing tournament, Sat-Chi will lock horns with the Chinese pair of Wang and Liang, or the Japanese duo of Kobayashi and Hoki on Sunday, January 14.
Speaking of the game, Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae saved two game points, but the Indians held their nerves and capitalised on their advantage. They made a remarkable comeback in the game and saved six-game points against their opponents. The Indian shuttlers confused their Korean counterparts with flat returns and sealed victory by registering the last eight points in a row.
In 2023, the Indians won Asian Games gold in Hangzhou and triumphed with the Super 1000 crown in Indonesia along with the Korea Open Super 500 and the Swiss Open Super 300. Not only this, but they also reached the number 1 spot in the world badminton rankings.
