Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankreddy scripted history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian doubles pair to clinch a Super 500 title. The unseeded 16th-ranked Indian duo upset the defending world champions Liu Yu Chen and Li Jun Hui in the Thailand Open final at the Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok. In the process, they also bagged what was their biggest ever career title on the BWF tour. The victory means that the two will also enter the top 10 in BWF men’s doubles rankings for the very first time in their careers.
Chirag and Satwiksairaj surprised the Chinese world champions, edging past in sets of 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 in an encounter that lasted just over an hour. On their way to the finals, the Indian men’s doubles pair had defeated former world champions Shin Baek Cheol and Ko Sung Hyun in the semi-final on Saturday.
Heading into the big final, Satwik and Chirag were always going to be the underdogs against the 2nd seeds as well as the reigning World and Thomas Cup champions Liu and Li.
However, that was never a cause of concern for the Indian shuttlers. Chirag Shetty, in an interview after the epic victory, informed how they were not tensed before the finale. “Not really, it was just our first major final. The people we were playing were the reigning world champions. They have been pretty regular at the semi-finals and finals of Super Series. I think, the moment we entered the court, we did not take the pressure. That’s what helped us,” he said.
Twitter Reaction
Here is how Twitter reacted as Satwik and Chirag created history on Sunday:
Indian shuttlers soar, create history.
Congratulations @satwiksairaj & @Shettychirag04 🇮🇳 on becoming 1st Indian Doubles Pair to win a prestigious championship like #ThailandOpenSuper500 by defeating world champions Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen.
Great moment for Indian Badminton. pic.twitter.com/ZWhCIAsYo3
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 4, 2019
Great win for the Indian doubles…that to in the Olympic year!! Amazing performance boys #satwik #chirag
Only the beginning 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) August 4, 2019
Historic win for SatwikSairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty in the #ThailandOpenSuper500 trophy beating the reigning World Champions in the men’s doubles. Shaandaar, Zabardast Zindabad pic.twitter.com/rgm04kDTiC
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 4, 2019
Satwik and Chirag have shown that anything is possible when you ‘believe’. This is just so huge for Indian sport. Congrats @BAI_Media @Media_SAI @GoSportsVoices pic.twitter.com/XBBoGxdxhQ
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) August 4, 2019
They just can't stop smiling #ThailandOpenSuper500 pic.twitter.com/oiQkZnrB7w
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 4, 2019
#Badminton | #AsianGames #TeamIndia bows out of the #Men's Team event in Badminton as Indonesia took an absolute lead in their Quarter-final fixture defeating India 3-1. #SrikanthKidambi, pairs of #Satwik & #Chirag and #Attri & #Sumeeth lost, as only @PRANNOYHSPRI managed a win! pic.twitter.com/eVwmxQpkKC
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 20, 2018
You may see me struggle but u never see me quit.#satwik #indian #athlete #indianathlete #sports #photography #shotmyway #action #badminton #yonexbadminton #vodafonepbl #win #hardestsmasher #ahmedabadsmashmasters #fastestindian #game
Pc-@ankursalvi pic.twitter.com/sHhr8Cimfh
— Satwik SaiRaj Rankireddy (@satwiksairaj) January 6, 2019
Awesome win guys ! First ever for Men’s doubles from India 🇮🇳 🇮🇳👏👏👏 #chiragsatwick #mensdoubleschampions #ThailandOpenSuper500 pic.twitter.com/mxlFqiZdmc
— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) August 4, 2019
Arrey nahi nahi ! Y do you guys always gets my prediction right 😉😉😉@satwiksairaj @Shettychirag04 First of the many Super series !! #incredible #ThailandOpen
— PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) August 4, 2019
Straight into the History 📚! 🤩🔥#FriendshipDay goals are justified as @satwiksairaj and @Shettychirag04 bag the numero uno position at the #ThailandOpen2019. 🥇👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/3twpdAJDvE
— PBL India (@PBLIndiaLive) August 4, 2019
