CHENNAI: IT is an apt case of light at the end of the tunnel.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had largely been at sea for over two years. If the 2024 Paris Olympics setback was a new low at the time, Satwik had suffered a heartbreaking loss of his father, somebody who had been instrumental in his career, just six months later. It was life-altering to say the least. The injuries also continued to disrupt his game.
If 2025 was a trophyless season, the current season, though still early days, was proving to be a bigger obstacle with the duo struggling to find any sort of rhythm in the game. But despite all the jarring experiences, they never lost belief in their abilities.
Things had been brighter since the Thomas Cup (where the Indian men's team won bronze) and they had come close to ending their title drought during the Thailand Open recently. It was a matter of time, as they kept telling themselves. On Sunday, that finally arrived at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
And the duo did it the hard way. The duo beat Muhammad Fikri and Fajar Alfian of Indonesia 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 across 73 fairly pulsating minutes.
Having conceded the opening game, the Indians displayed their survival instincts before going on to capture the Singapore Open — a BWF Super 750 tournament. Soon after the match-sealing point, they expressed their delight with a dance in front of the fans.
It was a poignant moment, highlighting what this meant for them. This was their first title since the Thailand Open crown in May, 2024. It was also the first time an Indian pair had captured a doubles crown at Singapore.
Speaking to reporters after the final, Satwik later dedicated his victory to his niece and family. "After the Olympics (Paris), we had been chasing for that one win and when we thought we're on the right track, personal things happened. One good thing that happened was that my brother was blessed with a baby last week. That was my celebration for her. We felt our father was reborn. I'm really happy with how things have gone this week. I was thinking I should dedicate this to my family, who has been supporting me all along. My mom is in the US. Really happy how this week went," he said.
The opening game was a tightly-contested affair. Fikri was employing the tumble serve, troubling the Indians on numerous occasions. Most of the rallies lasted a few seconds, mostly flat hits with any form of lift being subjected to punishment.
At 18-18, it was anybody's game. However, the Indonesia pair tightened the screw towards the closing stages to clinch three consecutive points, pocketing the game (21-18) in the process.
Despite being behind, this was not a new territory for the Indians. They have been in this position countless times in the past. En route to the final, they had been in the same position twice, against a pair from the US in the opening round and against a Malaysian pair in the quarterfinals. "We knew the win would eventually come. We had that belief and finally we got it. We're really happy," Chirag later said.
Like the opening game, where they had a two-point lead, the Indians headed into the mid-game interval with a three-point advantage before going on to make it six points following resumption in the second essay. However, the Indonesian pair also reeled off four points to close the gap. The Indians regained their stranglehold soon after before going on to level the tie.
With momentum on their side, the Indians — who had upset World No 1 pairing of Seo Seung Jae and Kim Won Ho in the semis — made a strong start in the decider and were coasting along nicely until the mid-game interval. However, the Indonesian pair, as is expected at the elite level, rallied to make it an interesting fight. With sharp returns, they once again managed to close the gap but every time it seemed like they could go level, the Indians found an extra gear to maintain their slender advantage.
"These kinds of matches you don't get many opportunities to smash. You have to prove yourself in front of the net. I kept it very simple. In the third game, it's always 50-50 (...) A few net shots, here and there, helped us. I felt they were under pressure. Today was our day," Satwik said.
Sunday was indeed their day and a victory for Indian badminton.
