Malaysia Open Super 1000 blog: Satwik-Chirag complete stunning fightback vs Liu-Ou to reach SF

6.20 pm: That will be all from the blog for today. Satwik-Chirag will be in semifinal action on Saturday. And now we turn our attention to India’s tournament opener at the Hockey World cup.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 21-10 Liu-Ou: And another massive Chinese test awaits the Indians in the semifinals.

REPLUG: “Through this one year, from Tokyo to Tokyo, they have gotten so much better,” Aparna Popat, former national champion and four-time CWG medallist, told Scroll.in.

Popat, who had recalled last year how puzzled she was at their Olympics heartbreak, was there at the venue for the World Championships as a commentator for BWF.

“From a pair that was out to prove themselves, which was the case at the Olympics, to a pair that seem like they belong here at the top. Dark horses, underdogs... all that is gone,” Popat said of watching them create history from close quarters.

Badminton: In memorable 2022, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty get busy on path to stardom

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 21-10 Liu-Ou: Unbelievable. I mean, they have given us many reasons to believe they are good, but *that* comeback was still unbelievable. From 10-17 down in Game 2, to forcing a decider and winning it 21-9.

Elite stuff, SatChi.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 20-9 Liu-Ou: 12 match points for the Indians, one saved.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 20-8 Liu-Ou: a flick serve for Satwik lands in.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 19-8 Liu-Ou: Extraordinary really. This will go down as one of the best wins of their career if they get past the finish line.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 16-7 Liu-Ou: Eight-point lead. Incredible. Super body attack there. And another flat rally goes the Indians’ way. Nine points.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 14-7 Liu-Ou: “The fire seems to have gone from Ou/Liu now,” says the commentator. Won’t read too much into it but the confidence in play is coming from one side only at the moment. But we were here the other way round in game 2.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 12-6 Liu-Ou: The string’s gone on Chirag’s racket but not before the Indians won the first point after the break.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 11-6 Liu-Ou: This is some turnaround. Really.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 6-5 Liu-Ou: The Chinese have found their footing for the first time since going up 17-10.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20, 5-2 Liu-Ou: The message from Boe at the interval was something along the lines of “love the attitude, don’t be afraid, we know what’s coming, just push push push.”

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 22-20 Liu-Ou: THAT IS SENSATIONAL. Chirag with terrific front-court play. And the Indians have fought back from 10-17 down to go up 22-20 and force a decider!

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 20-20 Liu-Ou: Great pressure from Liu and one game point saved.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 20-19 Liu-Ou: Wow, short serve and game point for the Indians.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 19-18 Liu-Ou: WHAT A RALLY! Flat from both pairs, and Satwik finds a pocket of the court where the Chinese pair couldn’t get to.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 18-18 Liu-Ou: Fabulous pressure from the Indians again. We are back level.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 17-18 Liu-Ou: Flat and fabulous from the Indians, the gap down to one.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 16-18 Liu-Ou: First signs of nerves for the Chinese pair.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 15-18 Liu-Ou: Well, not giving up just yet the Indians.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 14-18 Liu-Ou: Wonderful service return from Ou just as the Indians were trying to close the gap down. The Indians do get the serve back again. Now or never.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 12-17 Liu-Ou: Well, the Indians are trying to fight back. Applause from Mathias Boe.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 10-17 Liu-Ou: Wow that is ridiculous! The Chines are pair are admonishing themselves for being out of position but only after the most atrocious backhand crosscourt winner.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 10-14 Liu-Ou: That’s a solid defensive effort from the Indians but Liu/Ou are relentless at the moment.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 10-13 Liu-Ou: The Chinese pair goes into a 3-point lead.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 9-11 Liu-Ou: The lead at the interval belongs to the Chinese pair. They are on the front-foot most of the time, the Indians having to react.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21, 7-9 Liu-Ou: The longest rally of the match at 27 shots and it goes the Indians way! What a point. Terrific rotation.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21, 5-9 Liu-Ou: The sight of Liu at the net is such an intimidating one for opponents I imagine, a massive figure imposing himself on fights. The Indians are under pressure here.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21, 3-3 Liu-Ou: The Indians cannot afford to play catch-up here. They draw level early.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21, 1-3 Liu-Ou: The Indians appear a bit rattled at the moment truth be told. A tentative challenge from Chirag and it has gone long.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-21 Liu-Ou: First game to Liu-Ou. Every time they get height, they are so hard on it. (Sounds like something we’d say about the Indian pair too).

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 17-20 Liu-Ou: Fantastic direction changes from the Chinese pair... they have five game points. The Indians save two of those

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 15-18 Liu-Ou: Fight back from the Indians but the Chinese have now gone up four points. Going to be tough to recover from there... as I say that, great push to the back court by Satwik to get the serve back.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 11-14 Liu-Ou: Fantastic start to the 2nd half of the opening game for the Chinese pair. They got the serve back with some Matrix moves and then gone to make it 14-11.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 11-10 Liu-Ou: For 21 points, a grand total of nine minutes. Phew. Slender lead for the Indians at the break, quick word from Mathias Boe.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 7-7 Liu-Ou: For a brief while India took a 2-point lead but we are back level now at 8-8. There is barely any time to describe the action here!

Men’s doubles QF, Satwik-Chirag 3-3 Liu-Ou: Fast and furious. No surprises.

A quick look what Liu/Ou are capable of.

Men’s doubles QF, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs Liu Yu Chen & Ou Xuan Yi: We are about to get going, first meeting between these two

Men’s doubles QF, Time for Satwik-Chirag. If the Indians had a great 2022, the Chinese pairing of Liu-Ou arguably had a better year. World No 6 now, and had the 2nd most MD wins in 2022. They knocked out the world champs y’day. This will be thrilling, we think.

Time for Satwik-Chirag’s match.

Two matches to go after this for Satwik-Chirag.

Men’s doubles quarterfinals: Satwik-Chirag vs Liu-Ou is three matches away on Court 2.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 10-21 Kodai Naraoka: Couple of match points saved but the win goes to Naraoka who just levelled up in the decider and given he was already playing at a high level, it was too good to handle for Prannoy. The Indian had a foot issue at the start of the decider and wasn’t quite the same after that. An 84-minute battle that one.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 8-20 Kodai Naraoka: A disappointing end to a great battle.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 8-18 Kodai Naraoka: Another rally where Prannoy didn’t do much wrong but Naraoka just kept sending the shuttle back to wear his opponent out.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 7-17 Kodai Naraoka: Naraoka has simply just stopped missing. Over the last 10-12 points or so, has barely put a foot wrong.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 7-15 Kodai Naraoka: A fabulous game so far has just started veering to be one-sided for the first time today. Prannoy looking weary.

Anime-level energy seems about right.

Zenia D’Cunha (From ESPN India): Prannoy running out of gas, after two three game matches and a decider against a Japanese with anime-level energy

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-14 Kodai Naraoka: Indecision from the line judge who calls in then out. But it is out from Prannoy.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-13 Kodai Naraoka: It is starting to look like Kodai’s game. Scoreboard pressure telling on Prannoy and that is another smash that goes well wide.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-12 Kodai Naraoka: It is starting to slip away from the Indian. Fabulous net shot from Kodai.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-11 Kodai Naraoka: In a match of mostly brutal rallies, those two or three mistakes from Prannoy might prove costly. He has a five-point gap to overcome at the change of ends. That was another great rally that went KN’s way.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-9 Kodai Naraoka: Two big misses from Prannoy. Missing the lines by a fair bit there. He has just gone off the boil here at the wrong time.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 6-7 Kodai Naraoka: Impossible get from Prannoy at the net but Naraoka is waiting to pounce. The Indian gets the serve back with a 375kph service return.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 5-6 Kodai Naraoka: Indications that both players are tiring here understandably. Naraoka looks to be gasping a bit... but hold on, Prannoy has called for medical attention. Looks like an issue with his right foot.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19, 3-3 Kodai Naraoka: Important for Prannoy to make sure the distance is not big at the change of ends.

Aditya Chaturvedi: Yep, nearly an hour into the match and we’re going to a decider!

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 21-19 Kodai Naraoka: Fittingly, we have a decider. Fittingly, it is on the back of a fabulous rally. Prannoy had to defend and hang on, Naraoka kept the rally going with some great defence on his side too but the Indian ups the pace and the Japanese sends a block wide. Fist pump from the Indian. We are going the distance!

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 20-19 Kodai Naraoka: Well wide on the forehand smash from Prannoy and one game point saved.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 20-18 Kodai Naraoka: Fabulous net shot sets up a short lift and Prannoy nails the smash. Game points.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 19-18 Kodai Naraoka: That’s another fine rally and Kodai wants a review after it is called in. And it is JUSTTTT in. Huge point for Prannoy.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 18-18 Kodai Naraoka: There’s another roar from Prannoy as he inches back into the lead but makes a forehand error next rally.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 17-17 Kodai Naraoka: Terrific rally that Prannoy kept going with good defence but in the end Kodai wins it with a great net shot. Next point, it is Prannoy with a lovely tight net shot.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 16-16 Kodai Naraoka: There he is once again, Kodai levels things up.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 16-14 Kodai Naraoka: And once again the flat, straight smash helping Prannoy keep Kodai at bay. Staying just ahead for now.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 15-13 Kodai Naraoka: A couple of errors from Naraoka and credit to Prannoy for playing a tight rally.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 13-13 Kodai Naraoka: And we are back level! A review from Prannoy is no good and Kodai has caught up. Just doesn’t know the meaning of giving up, that guy.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 11-13 Kodai Naraoka: A rare sharp, short rally as Naraoka nails a crosscourt smash to close the gap down. He is back within touching distance now.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 9-9 Kodai Naraoka: And it is Prannoy in the lead at the interval with a lovely punch clear that lands plum on the back line.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 9-9 Kodai Naraoka: Absolutely nothing to choose in this game so far.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 8-8 Kodai Naraoka: A rather soft error from Prannoy at the end of another high-quality rally otherwise. A 36-shot rally that one. Naraoka returns the favour and we are level again.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 7-7 Kodai Naraoka: A nice cross-court slice by Prannoy and Naraoka is caught off guard. The umpire meanwhile is having a few words with Naraoka, presumably to prevent him from slowing things out.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 6-6 Kodai Naraoka: Another fabulous rally and it goes Prannoy’s way this time, with a nice straight smash.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 5-6 Kodai Naraoka: A quick come-on from Prannoy before he serves... he knows how important this phase in the game is, he can’t let Kodai get a foothold in this game for too long. The Indian is having difficulty controlling the length here.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 4-3 Kodai Naraoka: And that is something I haven’t seen before. The broadcast showed a hawkeye review after Naraoka challenged, but the “in” call was for Court 1 and not Court 2. Some confusion there, point eventually goes to Prannoy.

And hockey fans, #HWC2023 is underway. Here’s a thread of our stories in the lead-up..

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21, 1-0 Kodai Naraoka: A tough task gets tougher for Prannoy but he did choose sides at the toss and will be hoping to take this to the decider. Most MS matches have gone the distance in this event, it is worth noting.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 16-21 Kodai Naraoka: After a good tussle for most of the game, Naraoka pushed ahead in the back-end, a couple of errors that Prannoy will rue but otherwise a close game.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 15-20 Kodai Naraoka: A lucky net cord and one game point saved.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 15-20 Kodai Naraoka: And that’s another big miss from Prannoy, could have had the serve back on 16-18 but misses a net kill and it is 19-15 NAraoka. Soon after, five game points.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 15-17 Kodai Naraoka: As Kodai stays ahead, Prannoy comes up with a nice inside out smash that catches the line to stay in touching distance.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 13-15 Kodai Naraoka: A big roar from Prannoy as a nice net shot sets up the point. He needs a run of points here you feel.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 12-15 Kodai Naraoka: Ah that’s a bad miss and Prannoy looks skyward for perhaps the drift.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 10-13 Kodai Naraoka: Another TERRIFIC rally and there was a tweener from Prannoy in defence, but eventually Naraoka’s pressure pays off.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 9-11 Kodai Naraoka: An absolutely brilliant 39-shot rally goes Naraoka’s way and soon enough he takes a 11-9 lead into the interval.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 8-9 Kodai Naraoka: Back in the lead is Kodai but a lovely net shot by Prannoy makes it a 1-point game,

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 7-7 Kodai Naraoka: Backhand is arguably one of Prannoy’s biggest strengths and it is in good form today. We are all level.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 4-6 Kodai Naraoka: Blistering start for Kodai, racing ahead to a 6-1 lead but Prannoy has found his radar now. The 10th point was a fabulous rally, 27 shots, that went Prannoy’s way.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy 0-3 Kodai Naraoka: Brilliant second rally but mistakes from Prannoy either side of it and it is a good start for Kodai.

Men’s singles QF, HS Prannoy vs Kodai Naraoka: Both men come into this match on the back of big wins. Prannoy defeated Lakshya in the opening round, Naraoka knocked out home favourite and world No 2 Lee Zii Jia. He then went on to defeat another home favourite in Ng Tze Yong, fighting back from 15-19 down in game 2 to win in three.

12.28 pm: Prannoy vs Naraoka first up and it promises to be a cracker. Will stick my neck out to say it will be a really good, tight match if both players can find close their best levels.

Hello all and welcome to the live coverage of the 2023 badminton season. It’s day four at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 in Kuala Lumpur.

Two matches featuring Indians to look forward to today in the quarterfinals and all things considered, their identities don’t comes as a surprise. In the year’s first major event, HS Prannoy (India’s top-ranked men’s singles player) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (India’s top-ranked doubles pair) are in the last eight after impressive two rounds to kick-start their reason.

India’s QF matches on Friday: 

MS: HS Prannoy vs Kodai Naraoka (12.30 pm IST, Court 2), H2H: 0-2 in favour of Naraoka

MD: Satwik-Chirag vs Liu-Ou (03.50 pm IST, Court 2), first meeting.

India’s round of 16 matches on Thursday:

WD: Stoeva sisters defeated Treesa-Gayatri 21-13, 15-21, 21-17

MS: HS Prannoy defeated Dwi Wardoyo 9-21, 21-15, 16-21

MD: Satwik-Chirag defeated Fikri-Bagas 21-19, 22-20

Screenshots in the blog courtesy BWF / Viacom 18 / Tournament Software