Satwik-Chirag sail into China Masters final with win over Chia-Soh

Shenzhen (China): Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into their second successive men’s doubles final with a clinical straight-game win over former world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Saturday.

Fresh from a World Championships bronze and a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open last week, the Asian Games champions outclassed their long-time nemesis Aaron and Soh 21-17 21-14 in a dominating performance.

Satwik and Chirag came into the match with a 4-11 head-to-head record against the Malaysian duo, who are two-time Olympic medallists. However, the Indians had recently got the better of Aaron and Soh en route to their bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris.

On Saturday, the Indians came out with an all-out attacking approach, backed by a solid defence, while also dominating the front court as the Malaysians — particularly Aaron — looked out of sorts during the 41-minute semifinal clash.

The opening game was a tight affair with both pairs fighting tooth and nail. Aaron and Soh grabbed a 10-7 lead with four straight points. But three errors from Aaron — including a service fault — allowed Satwik and Chirag to claw back. The Malaysians still held a slender one-point advantage at the interval.

At 14-13, Aaron faltered again at the net, handing the initiative back to the Indians. A flurry of smashes from Satwik and errors from their rivals took the Indians to 18-14. A sharp return from Satwik gave them four game points and they sealed the opener on the second opportunity.

In the second game, Satwik and Chirag raced to a 5-2 lead after the change of ends, with Satwik’s smashes and Chirag’s deft front-court play helping them stretch it to 8-2. Though the Malaysians narrowed the gap to 6-8, the Indians went into the interval with 11-6 cushion.

Aaron and Soh reduced it to 9-11, but the Indians responded with another surge to make it 15-9. At 16-12, Satwik produced a thunderous smash followed by a lucky net cord, and the Malaysians’ errors mounted.

Chirag applied the finishing touches with a deep return and a decisive smash to close out the contest.