Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty duo climbs to career high ranking of world no.3

NEW DELHI: Indonesia Open winners and Commonwealth Games gold medallist men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty climbed up three spots in the latest BWF World Rankings to become the world no. 3 duo in men’s doubles, achieving their new career-high ranking on Tuesday.

India’s men’s doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the second-seeded Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh 21-17, 21-18 to claim India’s first-ever BWF Super 1000 World Tour title in the final of the Indonesian Open played in Jakarta on Sunday.

Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh are also the reigning World Champions, however, couldn’t counter the strategy the two Indians had laid out for them.

In the first game, the Malaysians shot off to a lead straight away and maintained it till the Indians drew parity at 7-7. And once Rankireddy and Shetty surged ahead on points, Chia and Soh found themselves playing catch-up. The two had ensured enough cushion to see them through in the first game at 21-17.

In the second game, the Malaysian did try to show some resistance in early stages, but Rankiraddy and Chirag looked determined to create history by bagging India’s first Super 1000 World Tour title.

Before this tournament, no Indian pair had ever gone beyond the semi-finals in a BWF Super 1000 World Tour event.

In the semi-final, the Indian duo defeated South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 while in the quarter-final they had beaten defeated world no. 1 home-favorite men’s doubles duo of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia 21-13, 21-13.

The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are now the Badminton Asian Champions, Commonwealth Games champion as well as BWF Super 1000 World Tour event winner after winning in Indonesia. (ANI)