India Open: Satwiksairaj-Chirag slip to third successive men’s doubles final loss

New Delhi [India]: The star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ended their India Open 2024 campaign as runners-up following a loss to reigning World Champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae from South Korea at Delhi on Sunday.

Satwiksairaj-Chirag lost the match by 21-15, 11-21, 18-21. The Indian pair managed to take the first game but lost the second game in a one-sided manner. In the last game, they put up a fight but lost it.
“Congratulations Kang/Seo Well played SatChi, onwards and upwards! #YonexSunriseIndiaOpen2024 #IndiaKaSmashMania #BWFWorldTourSuper750 #IndiaontheRise #Badminton,” tweeted the Badminton Association of India (BAI).

This is ‘Sat-Chi’ registering their third successive loss in a tournament final. Before this, they lost in the final of the Malaysia Open early in January and the China Masters event in November last year.
The famed Indian badminton duo was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu earlier in January.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag, popularly known as ‘Sat-Chi’ secured three Badminton World Federation (BWF) titles this year, the Swiss Open, the Indonesia Open and the Korea Open. They also won India’s historic first-ever badminton gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and also the Asian Championships gold in April.

The duo in October became the first doubles pair in Indian badminton history to be ranked at world number one in BWF rankings. Back in 2022, the Indian shuttlers were a part of the country’s historic, game-changing Thomas Cup win. They also bagged medals at the Commonwealth Games Gold in Birmingham and a Bronze at the World Championships.