Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost 21-9, 18-21, 17-21 to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang
That’s it for The Field’s coverage of the Malaysia Open Super 1000
The match started off as one-way traffic, with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty completely blowing away their opponents. But the world No 1 team from China would came back strong to win an entertaining second game and force a decider.
In the third, the Indians once again started strongly and had a seven-point lead at one stage. But again, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang came back with some irresistible play and clawed their way back into the match. And eventually took the lead.
This was the first time an Indian pair had made it to the final of the Malaysia Open, but the title wasn’t to be. Still, an impressive showing by the Indians to get their season underway.
Here’s a look at all the winners from the different events of the Malaysia Open Super 1000
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 17-21 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): From trailing by seven points in the final game, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China, the world No 1s, win the title.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 17-20 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians save one. Still three more to go.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 16-20 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): Excellent work from the backcourt, and now China has Championship Point!
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 16-19 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The world No 1 team from China is turning up the pressure. They're now two points away from the title.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 16-18 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): Big smash by Wang, and a bigger celebration by the Chinese.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 14-12 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): From once being seven-points down in the decider, the Chinese are now up by two points.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 12-12 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): And the world No 1 team from China are back in it. Nothing between them as we head into the last stretch of this final.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 11-7 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians had a strong seven-point lead, but the Chinese clawed back a bit. Still, Satwik/Chirag manage to take a four-point lead at the interval.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 8-2 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): A service error by the Chinese, and the Indians have started to build on the momentum. They have a six-point lead early in this deciding game.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21, 3-2 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians have a slender lead in the opening exchanges.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-21 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): Trailing by just one point, after being down by six at one stage, the Indians had clawed their way back into the game. But a service-error (of all things possible) handed the Chinese a game-point opportunity and the world No 1 team made no mistake. This match is going into the decider now.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 18-19 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): Just a one-point game now. The Indians have clawed their way back into this game. Can they win it now? Or will this go into a decider?
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 15-17 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): And again, Chirag and Satwik won't give in. Some tremendous defence from the Indians drew out a few errors from the Chinese. The gap reduces to two again.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 12-17 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Chinese pair have become more aggressive now in their approach, drawing out errors.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 12-14 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians won't go away just yet. They've reduced the gap to two now and are fighting their way back.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 6-11 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The second game has been just as quick as the first game, but the Chinese have come back strong and have taken a six-point lead into the mid-game interval.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9, 2-8 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The change of ends seems to have helped the Chinese, just as the Indians have started to commit more errors.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 21-9 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): In just 13 minutes, the Indians have taken the first game. They have been quick on their feet, have kept the points short and been near-flawless in their execution. What a sprint this has been so far.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 18-8 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): A few errors have come in from the Indians, but they still have a solid lead and are a few points away from taking the first game.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 16-5 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The lead is now 11 points!
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 13-5 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): Quick feet by Rankireddy. He takes a fast split-step to the net and flicks a cross-court winner giving the Chinese no time to react.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 11-4 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): It's the Asian Games champions from India who take the early lead, with a seven-point advantage at the first game interval.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 9-3 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians have been quick in their movement, decision making and executions. They've raced to a six-point lead.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) 4-0 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (1): The Indians make a bright start, winning four quick points on the trot.
It’s the world No 1 team vs the world No 2 pair. AND WE’RE OFF!
Screenshots courtesy Jio Cinema, BWF Tour (YouTube channel) and Tournament Software
Anders Antonson wins the men’s singles final against Shi Yu Qi. The men’s doubles final is up next.
Timing update: The men’s doubles final will start shortly after the ongoing men’s singles final ends.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of Indian badminton.
Earlier this week, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – India’s highest sports honour. But they were unable to attend the ceremony in New Delhi. They were in Kuala Lumpur instead, for their season opener at the Malaysia Open Super 1000.
And they made good of that decision, as the world No 2 men’s doubles team became the first pair from India to reach the Malaysia Open final. They take on the world No 1 pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang from China.