Malaysia Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Clinch Silver After Heated Encounter

Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fell just short of gold as the duo clinched the silver in the final of the Malaysian Open after falling tonthe Chinese pair of Wang Chang and Liang Weikeng in a hard-fought three-set game at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament on Sunday.

Satwik-Chirag left it all on the floor but came just short in three games of 21-9, 18-21, 17-21 against Liang-Wang as the Indians settled for the silver.

Satwik-Chirag took the first set with absolute ease as the pair smashed ther way to a 21-9 win and looked on track to keep up the momentum.

But the pair of Liang-Wang proved their mettle in the following game as they slogged it out against the Indians in the second set to clinch a close set of 21-18 in their favour to tie the game.

The final set did not disappoint anyone at all, as both teams went back and forth, exchanging blows after the Indians took an initial five-point lead.

Liang-Wang then brought their A-game as they successfully chipped away at the same and ensued in a heated back-and-forth, as both team remained tied at 14-14.

The momentum though stayed with the Chinese pair who then broke the deadlock and took a two-point lead initially to never lose the same as they rallied to a nail-biting 21-17 win and clinched the title.

The Indian duo dueled it out against the South Korean pair of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in two intense sets of 21-18, 22-20 to book their place in the final.

The second-seeded pair of Satwik and Chirag, who reached the semifinals in 2023, were hopeful about continuing the good run and going deep in the draw after the stiff 44-minute test from the world No. 9 duo, which had beaten the Indians twice last year — at the Thailand Open and China Open.

They sure did the same as the Indian pair, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year, looked in control during the rallies and were also proactive at the net to eke out a dominating 21-11 21-8 win over world no. 32 Yu and Ting in just 35 minutes, and reach the finals.

Satwik and Chirag have looked in ominous form, winning the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, a Super 1000 crown in Indonesia, the Korea Open Super 500 and the Swiss Open super 300 last year before grabbing a a career-best ranking of World No.1, albeit for a brief time.