Hangzhou: India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty maintained their unbeaten run to storm into the knockout stage of the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals, beating arch-rivals Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in their final Group B match on Friday.
Seeded third, Satwik and Chirag showed composure and tactical acumen after dropping the opening game to edge out the Paris Olympic bronze medallists 17-21, 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 70-minute contest. They are the first Indian men’s pair to reach the semifinals of the season-ending event. The only unbeaten pair in Group B, the Indian duo came into the match needing just one game to seal a semi-final berth, despite trailing 5-11 in head-to-head meetings against the Malaysians. They did far more than required, adjusting their strategy mid-match to wrest control from their opponents.
After conceding the first game, Satwik and Chirag held their positions better, varied their returns and mixed lifts with sharp drives to disrupt Aaron and Soh’s rhythm.
It was another absorbing contest, played at furious pace from the outset, as both pairs focused on getting the service and receive right before working sharp, awkward angles to unsettle each other.