Braving severe cold conditions prevailing in the Capital, those who made it to the India Open badminton on Saturday night left the Jadhav Stadium after 11 p.m. following a heart-warming performance from the new poster-boys of Indian badminton — Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
The World No. 2 pair produced a fighting performance against fourth-seeded Malaysians Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to whom it lost eight successive times before the next two. The 21-18, 21-14 victory made it a hat-trick of triumph. This will be a second final in eight days for the Indians after the summit clash of the Malaysia Open.
After H.S. Prannoy’s disappointing 21-15, 21-5 defeat to World No. 2 Shi Yuqi, Chirag-Satwik’s victory served as a soothing balm for the crowd. They bounced back from 10-13 in the second game to win the last six points, soon after a tap from Chirag struck Aaron Chia on the eye.
