India's dazzling duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has cruised into the men's doubles final of the Indonesia Open after gunning down Korean combination on Saturday (June 17). Meanwhile, India's men's singles campaign came to an end with HS Prannoy's defeat at the hands of World no.1 Viktor Axelson in the semfinal.
India's star shuttler came from behind notched a stunning win over Korea's Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae with a scoreline of 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in the semifinal clash at the BWF World Tour Super 1000 event.
Notably, there is also a historical tinge to Satwiksairaj and Chirag's victory as the 2022 World Championships bronze medallists became the first ever Indian pair to reach the final of any Super 1000 tournament.
The win also extended their overall head-to-head record over Kang and Seo to 3-2. World No 6 Satwik and Chirag will face the winners Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan of Indonesia and second seeds Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh of Malaysia.
Prannoy pestered by Axelsen
Prannoy failed to rise to the occasion against top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, going down 15-21, 15-21. Prannoy played the catch up game from the onset. He showed sparks in between riding on his cross court smashes but Axelsen's drop shots and court coverage was good enough to help him take the lead. The script unfolded in the same manner in the next game as Axelsen continued to maintain his upperhand and pocket the game and match in identical manner. It was Prannoy's sixth loss against the Dane in the international circuit as against two wins.
Earlier on Friday, Satwiksairaj and Chirag toppled men's doubles world no.1 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in straight games to make their way to the Indonesia Open's semifinals.
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