1.16 pm: This will be the second meeting between Satwik / Chirag and Li / Liu. The Chinese pair won their first meeting in June this year at Australia Open 21-19, 21-18. It was a close match, with the Indian duo going toe-to-toe with the world champions in the first game. The 2nd game was turning out to be fairly simple for Li / Liu when they were leading 19-13 and even had six match points. The Indian pair saved four of those!
1.08 pm: The World Championships bronze medallists from Japan have won the Thailand Open gold medal. Tanaka and Yonemeto win in 84 minutes against Li and Du. After the presentation formalities, Satwik and Chirag will take the court.
1.04 pm: Here’s an interview with Satwiksairaj. He spoke to Scroll late last year about his passion for doubles and more:
1.00 pm: Satwik and Chirag’s win on Saturday received a lot of appreciation on Twitter.
12.51 pm: A quick recap of the semifinal win for Satwik / Chirag on Saturday.
12.45 pm: Satwiksairaj / Chirag Shetty overcame former world champs in the semi-final on Saturday. They now face the reigning World Champions in the final, as they eye their first ever Super 500 title.
12.38 pm: After 58 minutes of badminton, the women’s doubles final is level at one-game each. The wait continues for Satwik and Chirag behind the scenes.
12.35 pm: The ongoing women’s doubles final is turning into an epic. Long rally after long rally between China’s Du / Li and Japan’ Tanaka / Yonemoto. The Japanese duo won the first game 21-19, the Chinese pair are on the verge of forcing a decider.
11.50 am: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the men’s doubles final at the Thailand Open on Saturday with an impressive victory against former world champions Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Cheol from South Korea.
In the final today, they will face third seeds Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen from China. The teams have played against each other once before – at the Australian Open in 2019 – with the Chinese pair coming up trumps in straight games 21-19, 21-18.
On Saturday, the Indian pair fought back after squandering match points in the second game to win 22-20, 22-24, 21-9 in an hour and three minutes on Saturday.
They will now play their first final at a Super 500 and above level event. It is scheduled to be the second match of the programme, after the women’s doubles.