Singapore: Former world No 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fought back from a game down to clinch their maiden Singapore Open title, defeating Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in the men's doubles final of the BWF Super 750 tournament, here on Sunday.
The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games champions produced a gritty comeback to secure their first title in two years and their ninth career World Tour crown, besides claiming a third Super 750 title with a tense 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 win in one hour 13 minutes.
The victory was particularly significant for the world No. 4 Indian duo, who became the first Indians to win the doubles title at the Singapore Open.
Satwik and Chirag had last lifted a trophy at the Thailand Open in 2024. Since then, they had reached four finals but finished runners-up on each occasion before finally breaking the drought in Singapore.
The Indians had entered the final trailing 1-2 in their head-to-head record against the Indonesian pair, with their most recent defeat coming in the Malaysia Open quarterfinals in January.
After dropping a closely-fought opening game, Satwik and Chirag raised their intensity and dominated the longer rallies to turn the contest around against the world No. 3 Indonesians.
The triumph capped an impressive week for the Indian pair, who had stunned reigning world champions and top seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the semifinals.
As the winning point was sealed, Satwik and Chirag lay flat on the court in celebration.
Satwik followed it up with a baby-themed celebration, while an ecstatic Chirag let out a loud roar before leaping onto his partner.
The duo later danced on court as they savoured a long-awaited return to the top step on the podium.
