India's men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history after beating the Malaysian duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik for the first time in nine encounters at the Indonesia Open on Sunday, June 18. The shuttlers secured the match in straight games with a scoreline of 21-17, 21-18.
It was a meritorious victory for the Indian men's doubles pair, who first beat the world no. 1 pair in the Quarterfinals, and have now beaten the World Champions to the title.
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The Indians started slowly but upped the ante to win the match in straight games. They also made history by winning their first Super 1000 title. The current World Champions lost the final in just 43 minutes.ย
After their slow start, the pair picked up the pace to lead the game 11-9 during the mid-game break. The second game, on the other hand, began with the Indians dominating the proceedings. Despite this, the Malaysian couple came close towards the end, as they were unable to take the pressure of Satwik and Chirag.
The BWF World Tour is divided into six categories: World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and eleven Super 300. The BWF Tour Super 100 level is another tournament category that awards ranking points. Each of these tournaments has a unique set of ranking points and prize money. The Super 1000 level has the most points and the largest prize pool.
Meanwhile, Satwik and Chirag only have the Olympic medal missing from their decorated trophy cabinet. They have won the world championship medal, Thomas Cup medal, Commonwealth games medal and titles at all levels on the BWF tour - from 300 to 1000.
The World No. 6 pair will move up the rankings to no. 3 now. They have had a stop-start season, winning the Badminton Asia Championship gold medal earlier in 2023, but then losing in the first round of the Singapore Open and bowing out in the second round of the Thailand Open after their ordinary outings in the Sudirman Cup. But they have now bounced back strong with a sensational victory at the Istora, beating their nemesis Aaron Chia and Soh Wooh Yik for the first time in 9 meetings on the tour.
