Kuala Lumpur: India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faltered at the finishing line to end their dream run at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 with a narrow loss in the men’s
doubles final against world No. 1 Chinese Liang Wei keng and Wang Chang here on Sunday.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games gold medallists, squandered an opening game advantage and an 11-7 lead in the decider
to go down 21-9 18-21 17-21 to Liang and Wang in the summit clash which saw both the pairs displaying some exquisite strokeplay.
It was a fourth defeat for the Indian pair against Liang and Wang, having lost three of their last four meetings -- all in 2023.
The only time Satwik and Chirag had emerged victories was during their title-winning run at Korea Open Super 500 last year.
In fast playing conditions, the Indians
dominated the proceedings early on, cruising to a 5-1 lead with the help of some angled returns and accurate
placements.