"Want to continue with same momentum next week at Japan Open": Satwik

NEW DELHI: After clinching the Korea Open title, Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty expressed their intention to continue with the same momentumat Japan Open starting next week. In a nail-biting three-game men's doubles final, Satwiksairaj-Chirag defeated the world No. 1 Indonesian team of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 to win the Korea Open 2023 championship on Sunday in Yeosu, South Korea.

After winning the final, Satwiksairaj said that they have performed pretty well in the past weeks and they will continue the same momentum next week at Japan Open too. "It’s been pretty good week for us. We played some amazing badminton throughout the week here and I am happy with the performance today. We want to continue with the same momentum next week at Japan Open so we’ll go back now, rest and focus again. Thank you for all the support," he said.

Chirag also expressed his joy after the third Super 500 title victory. "The way we played today in the finals, didn’t start off that well but happy that we could win that second game and keep the momentum until the very end and yes, extremely happy that we could win the consecutive titles after the Indonesia Open," Chirag added.

This is the third Super 500 title of their career so far after Thailand Open 2019 and Yonex Sunrise India Open 2022 and the third BWF World Tour title in 2023 as well, having previously won the Swiss Open 2023 (Super 300) and Indonesia Open 2023 (Super 1000) earlier this year. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat the world no. 1 Indonesian pair 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 in the men's doubles final, clinching the Korea Open title. The Indian pair, after losing the first set, showed remarkable improvement to down the top seeds.

The ace Indian duo entered the final with a thrilling straight-game win over the world number two Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang on Saturday. The world number three Indian pair notched up a 21-15, 24-22 win over the second-seeded Chinese in a 40-minute duel at the Jinnam stadium. It was Satwik and Chirag's first win over the Chinese pair following two earlier defeats.