Indonesia Open: Satwik-Chirag duo pull up massive comeback, enter men's doubles finals

Why you're here: The Indian badminton team got off to a respectable start. The Indonesia Open 2023, June 13 to 18th at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia, featured the double men's teams of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the double women's teams of J. Jolly and G. Gopichand, Prannoy HS in the men's singles, and PV Sindhu from the women's singles. The men's division of the tournament did well, but the women's division could not assert dominance.

3 things you need to know 

• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty represented India in men’s doubles at the Indonesia Open 
• Satwik and Chirag are the first Indian pair to compete in a Super 1000 final
• The Indian badminton duo extend their lead over Kang Min Hyuk & Seo Seung Jae by a 3-1 margin

Also Read: Indonesia Open: HS Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag Enter Semifinals; Srikanth Kidambi Exits After Loss

Satwiksairaj-Chirag defeat Kang-Seo in semifinal

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty raced into the men's doubles final of the Indonesia Open World Tour Super 1000 event on Saturday, June 17. The Indian pair have made the nation proud after performing brilliantly at the international level.

After defeating the Korean combination of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a nail-biting semifinal, the 2022 World Championships bronze medallists became the first Indian duo to reach the final of any Super 1000 tournament. Satwik-Chirag created history and made the entire nation proud.

Looking at their progress in the tournament, Satwik-Chirag has been dominating the tournament so far after beating top-class opponents Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto to reach the semifinal of the men’s doubles tournament. The semifinal went on for an hour and seven minutes as the Indian shining stars made a historic comeback after losing the first set of the game by 17-21. 

Also Read: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy Make Prequarters; Treesa-Gayatri Bow Out Of Indonesia Open

In the 1 hour 7 minute game, the Indian pair struggled to hit back the Korean serves and were almost losing the chance to reach the finals. Kang-Seo was close to pulling a rebound in the second set, but the Indian pair did not allow them. In contrast, the third set was considerably closer than expected, with both teams focussing on the attacking tactic.

Who are they going to face in the final?

HISTORIC 💯

First-ever #BWFWorldTour Super 1000 final for Sat-Chi and they enter it in style 😍🔥

📸: @badmintonphoto@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @lakhaniarun1 #IndonesiaOpen2023#IndonesiaOpenSuper1000#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/DQjOXL4EOI

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 17, 2023

Satwik and Chirag will face the victor of the other semifinal involving Indonesia's Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan and Malaysia's top pair Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh in their first World Tour Super 1000 final. The finals would eventually come down to India facing Indonesia or Malaysia.