India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history in the badminton men’s doubles event in the Asian Games 2023. Satwik-Chirag defeated Republic of Korea’s Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in straight games to clinch the gold medal. With Sat-Chi’s win, India took their medal tally to 101 on Saturday, 7 October.
In the first set, the South Korean pair was leading 18-15. However, the star Indian duo stormed back into the contest, producing scintillating badminton to win six straight points and eventually take the opening set 21-18. After winning the first game, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty did not look back and the duo moved through the gears in the second to win the gold medal match in straight sets.
Assam Chief Minister and President of Badminton Association of India Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated the duo in their historic win in the Asian Games 2023.
Historic Badminton Gold for 🇮🇳in #AsianGames22
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 7, 2023
Congratulations to @satwiksairaj and @Shettychirag04 for your outstanding performance in the Badminton Men's Doubles finals & clinching the Gold Medal for India at the Asian Games for the very first time!
The entire nation is… pic.twitter.com/9zVaUoQnUl
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty duo became the first Indian pair to enter the Asian Games men’s doubles final, on Friday. They defeated Olympic champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the semifinal. The eventual scoreline read 21-17, 21-12 in favour of the Indian pair.
Satwik-Chirag started off well in the first game but fell behind going into the final stage of the game. Sat-Chi were trailing 14-17 but pulled off a tremendous comeback taking the first game 21-18. Both teams attacked from the go with a flurry of smashes. Satwik-Chirag were wasteful at the start of the game finding the net from the back court. Chirag Shetty did well to change the pace of the game showed his variety at the net.
The second game of the final was a little more straight forward, where the India duo on 21-16 in 27 minutes. The match lasted for a little less than an hour and the gold in men’s doubles capped off a strong performance from the badminton contingent in the Asian Games.
