Swiss Open 2023: Satwik-Chirag clinch men’s doubles title

Basel (Switzerland): The Indian badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the Swiss Open 2023 men’s doubles title after beating China’s Tan Qiang and Ren Xiang Yu in the final at the St Jakobshalle arena, here on Sunday.

Satwik-Chirag, sixth in the badminton rankings, defeated the world No. 21 Chinese pair 21-19, 24-22 to win their first title of the 2023 badminton season.

Commonwealth Games champions Satwik and Chirag’s previous BWF title came at the French Open 2022 BWF Super 750 tournament in October.

Both pairs started the match with strong intent and refused to budge in early exchanges. Despite a solid defensive showing by Tan and Ren, including a 47-shot rally to take the fifth point, Chirag and Satwik kept adding to their lead to win the first game in the BWF Super 300 final.

There was little to separate the two teams in the second game as well. After the scores were tied at 11-11, Shetty’s powerful smashes and Rankireddy’s deft touches helped the Indians build a three-point cushion.

The Chinese pair mounted a comeback with a string of attacking shots. They saved four match points but Chirag and Satwik went on to win the match in 54 minutes.