Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan of Chinese Taipei 21-11, 21-17.
That’s it for The Field’s coverage of the 2024 French Open Super 750
After three successive runner-up finishes, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have finally broken the rut. They are the 2024 French Open Super 750 men’s doubles champions, reclaiming their title from 2022.
The Indians were expected to be the favourites against world No 16 pair of Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan and they displayed exactly why. Rankireddy and Shetty never looked in any trouble throughout the tournament and clinched the title without dropping a game.
They bulldozed their way through in almost all the matches and they found ways to win points in crucial junctures in contests where they were tested. In the end, they won the title clash 21-11, 21-17 in 37 minutes – the fastest final of the day.
More importantly, Rankireddy and Shetty have won the title at the Adidas Arena – the same venue where the 2024 Paris Olympics will be played a few months later. Will the world No 1 pair be able to replicate the same heroics then?
Here’s a look at all the winners at the 2024 French Open Super 750
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 21 -17 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Satwik-Chirag win the French Open title. 37 minutes is all it took for the Indians to win, this is the shortest final of the evening in Paris.
Utter domination from the World No 1 pair!
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 20-16 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Four match point opportunities for Satwik-Chirag as the Chinese Taipei pair find the net.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 17-14 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Satwik-Chirag are now piling on the pressure. Multiple points in a row for the Indians and they have a three-point lead at a crucial juncture. Can they wrap this up in straight games?
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 14-14 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Brilliant communication between the Indian pair as Chirag Shetty calls from the net at the shuttle might land outside the backline. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy trusts his partner and lets it ago. Indians back level at 14-14.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 11-11 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: A service error followed by yet another mistake on the net from Lee-Yang, sees the Indian pair equalise right after the interval. A total of four service errors from the Chinese Taipei pair so far in this contest.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 9-11 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Lee-Yang lead 11-9 at the second mid-game interval. The Indians were unhappy with the final point called against them by the umpire, but they get on with it.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 9-10 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: The first challenge of the match comes from Chirag Shetty and he is proven right. A Chinese Taipei shot called in at the backline, but the Indian went up straightaway.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 8-9 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Good aggression from Lee-Yang as they retake the lead in the second game. A good rush forward from Lee out of nowhere takes the Indian pair by surprise.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 6-5 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Multiple shots into the net from Lee/Yang as Satwik-Chirag take the lead for the frist time in the second game.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 3-5 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Playing from the faster side of the court, Lee-Yang emerge as the better pair in the opening exchanges of the second game. Satwik-Chirag trail 3-5.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11, 0-2 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: The Chinese Taipei pair get off the blocks better in the second game as they open up a 0-2 lead early on.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-11 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Satwik-Chirag take the opening game 21-11. Lee-Yang have hardly troubled the Indians apart from a couple of rallies. The world No 1 needed just 15 minutes to win the first game.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 17-10 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: An excellent rally with both pairs doing all they can to stay in it. It eventually falls in favour of Lee-Yang as Satwik’s shot goes long.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 14-6 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Satwik-Chirag are cruising at the moment. Lee-Yang have no answers to the pace of the Indians as they keep hitting the net time and again.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 11-5 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: The world No 1 pair have opened up a six-point lead within no time as they lead 11-5 at the mid-game interval.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 9-4 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: The Indians are on a roll now. Multiple errors at the net from the Chinese Taipei pair and Satwik-Chirag have a four-point lead.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 6-4 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Satwik-Chirag open up a slender two-point lead, courtesy a well placed shot at the deep from Shetty.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 3-3 Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: Not much to separate the two pairs at the early exchanges. Both locked at 3-3. Still early days in the contest.
Men's doubles final – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan: The warmups are done and we are all set to begin. Chirag Shetty will serve first in the final.
Shi Yu Qi wins the men’s singles title at the 2024 French Open Super 750. He beats Vitidsarn 22-20, 21-19 in just over an hour. Satwik-Chirag will be on the court next.
Timing update: The men’s doubles final between Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan will start after the ongoing men’s singles final between reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn and China’s Shi Yu Qi.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of Indian badminton
The Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are in their fourth straight final in the BWF World Tour circuit. The world No 1 pair, however, have lost their previous three title clashes and have a point to prove at the French Open Super 750.
Rankireddy and Shetty are yet to drop a game in the tournament in Paris and will start as favourites against Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan. The Indians have a 2-0 head-to-head record against the world No 16 pair.
Rankireddy and Shetty also have fond memories of the French Open – a tournament where they finished runners-up in 2019 before winning the title in 2022.
Can they reclaim that title? Answers in a bit.
Screenshots courtesy Jio Cinema and BWF Tournament Software