SatChi confident despite final heartbreak

NEW DELHI: It was a tense spell of play as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty struggled to find answers. Having played with much authority in the opening game of their men’s doubles final, it was a rather bizarre scene as the World No 2 pair was suddenly reduced to collecting the shuttle and passing it back to their rivals. Their struggle could be sensed through the crowd, who had gradually started to lose their voice, here at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

It was a period where they conceded nine consecutive points. That was the Indian pair’s start of downfall on Sunday as they missed out on a title by a whisker for the second consecutive week, this time in front of the home fans here at the India Open.

After displaying their quintessential style of play in the first game against the Korean duo of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae (World No 3), they lost the plot in the second game and eventually conceded the match (21-15, 11-21, 18-21). Satwik lamented about the aforementioned spell. “We started off quite well in the first game, but in the second, we couldn’t really start well. In no time, we were down by 11-5. From then on, it was quite difficult to come back, and yes, they were quite a formidable defensive pair,” he assessed.

This latest defeat was certainly a dampener for the Khel Ratnas. Having come so far, that too in front of home fans, Satwik is understandably dejected after letting this opportunity slip. Having said that, he’s also quick to point out the positives (a valid one of course). “Overall, we are sad about losing the final in our home tournament. But, there are a lot of positives, the last two weeks have been really good,” Satwik was suggesting their runners-up effort at the Malaysia Open last week.