Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik defeated India’s Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy 21-18, 21-18 in the men’s doubles semi-final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Saturday.
The Malaysian eighth seeds will take on sixth seeds Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin of Chinese Taipei in the final on Sunday.
Chia-Soh kept Satwik-Chirag (world No 10) on the defensive throughout, as short, flat and direct rallied proved to be a big challenge for the Indian pair.
Satwik and Chirag were yet to drop a game in the tournament heading into their semi-final match. But the Malaysians simply proved to be a better team on Saturday.
It was neck and neck in the first game and the rallies were rapid, but Chia-Soh managed to take a slender 11-10 lead to the mid-game interval.
Satwik-Chirag then closed the gap to 15-16 but the Malaysians pulled away after that to close out the opening game 21-18.
Chia-Soh then took an 11-8 lead to the interval in the second game but Satwik-Chirag were hanging in there. The Indian pair lost four points in a row towards the start of the game but did well to close out the gap.
Satwik and Chirag once again mounted a mini comeback or sorts by saving four consecutive match points, but it wasn’t to be at the end as Chia-Soh completed a straight-games victory.
The result meant that India were left alive only in the mixed doubles draw, with Satwik and Ashwini Ponnappa set to take on top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai from Thailand in the semi-finals later on Saturday.
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