New Delhi: The Indian star Badminton pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on Sunday made history as they won India’s first-ever doubles title in the 68-year-long history of the Swiss Open.
The Indian duo outclassed their Chinese opponents Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the summit clash at Basel. The second-seeded Indian pair won the match in straight games by 21-19 and 24-22 in a little shy of an hour.
The duo had stormed into the final after defeating the Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in three games by 21-19 17-21 21-17. They kept their march going and clinched the nail-biter. Notably, this is their fifth title in the BWF World tour, with the other four being- India Open 2022, French Open 2022, Thailand Open 2019 and the Hyerabad Open in 2018.
The Indians made a good start to the final, as they went 11-8 up in the interval of the first game. Their lead was hardly questioned shortly after the interval but the Chinese came back from 12-17 down to 17-19 and then avoided one game point when the score read 20-18 but Satwik complemented Chirag’s return with a hard shot to clinch the first game 21-19.
Both the pair started the second game well but the Indians yet again grabbed a lead going into the interval by 11-9. The Chinese did not give up easily, not letting the Indians take a healthy lead and it became a game of fine margins.
Having two match points at 20-18, it looked the Indians would wrap it up but the Chinese saved three-match points before having a one-game point for themselves at 22-21. But the Indians received relief with the net giving them a point before setting the match point at 23-22 and taking the game 24-22.
