CHENNAI: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's chase for that elusive title in 2025 continues. Things were going as per script in the early stages of their latest tie on Sunday and it seemed that the title was within their reach. But their opponents on the day — Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea — highlighted just why they have been an unstoppable force this season.
After a start full of promise in the men's doubles final of the China Masters at the Shenzhen Arena, the World No 7 pair had a handy lead of 14-7 in the opening stanza. But the Koreans, the current World No 1, calmly closed the gap before going on to capture their seventh title on tour this season. The reigning world champs and All England winners won 21-19, 21-15.
Satwik and Chirag, who captured the bronze medal during the Worlds recently, themselves have been thriving in recent weeks. Coming into the final, the former World No 1 combination had swept aside all their other rivals, including World No 2 pair and arch-rivals Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, during the campaign. Their confidence was sky-high but that pales in comparison to the Koreans, who showed their capacity to survive testing times in Game 1 on the day.
In the post-match interaction with the media, Chirag touched upon the advantage that they squandered in the opening game. However, he was pleased with the overall effort.
"We played some really good badminton over the past two weeks or so. It's been really good. They've (Koreans) been playing really well, their ranking and the world title suggests the same. We had our chances at 14-7 (Game 1). Probably, we could have been steadier then. Also, credit to them, they came out with some really good badminton but we stuck there until the end. A few lucky points here and there and it (game) turned away from us. Overall, happy with the way we played but we're still hunting for the title," he said.
His partner, Satwik, spoke about confidence and how that was one of the differences between the two sides on the day. "It's all about confidence too. The way they have been playing in the last few months... it's been amazing. Going into the tie, we thought of playing good badminton. Obviously, they won't give away easy points and their defence is extraordinary. We had a plan...we maintained it till the first half. From then, they came up with a few points here and there and that confidence was visible in their game when it was 19-all. We're right up there. It's just a matter of time. It could have been a different scenario if we had captured the first game. Happy with the way we're playing and good to get back-to-back podium finishes."
With the day's outcome, the Indians have now lost twice against the Koreans so far. Indians have shown their ability to turn the tide in their favour in the past. Like Satwik says, it could be just a matter of time before they regain that title-winning touch.