French Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty create history by winning first Super 750 tournament; defeat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in finals
The dynamic Indian badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have added another feather to their hat this year. They have won the French Open Super 750 tournament.
The dream run for the world number 8 ranked pair continues. Having won the Indian Open Super 500, Commonwealth games, Thomas Cup and bronze in World Championship, they register their first ever French Open victory.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj had outwitted the South Korean team in straight sets in their semis. And followed a similar strategy against their opponents from Chinese Taipei.
Attacking start by Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj
They came out all guns blazing against Lu and Yang. In no time there was a 5-0 lead in the favor of the Indians. And the Chine Taipei players were running helter skelter to score a single point.
However, by the time they managed to find their footings, it was too late. India already had 7 set points to their name, and Chirag Shetty sealed it eventually.
The first set saw the Indian dup emerge victorious by a hefty margin of 21-13.
In the second set, the Chinese Taipei duo was more proactive. They took hold of the game to begin with and never lost sight of the opponent.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj register historic victory in summit match
The Indian duo made a comeback in the second set having lost some early point. Chirag and Satwik went on to gain a 6 point cushion. But a slump in game awareness cost them big time.
At the midway juncture both teams were down to 10-12 in favor of India.
Lu and Yang showed some aggressive moves to make the margin 14-all and then 19-all. But the Indians were adamant enough to not let the game slide into the third set.
Rankireddy ensured that by taking two points on the turn. One smash and one body return was all he required to help India register a 21-19 win.
With this victory they have created history in Indian Badminton. They become the first Indian duo to win the French Open Super 750 tournament.
