Chirag and Satwiksairaj, the top Indian duo put out an amazing strategy at the Istora Senayan courts in Jakarta and created history by winning men’s doubles title at the Indonesia Open on Sunday. They became the first doubles pair from India to claim a Super 1000 event. Chirag and Satwiksairaj kept the opponent Malaysian Team on the offensive throughout most rallies in the finals.
The BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour is divided into six levels that are World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, and Super 300 and Super 100. Even though all of these categories offer ranking points, the Super 1000 level provides the players with the highest amount of ranking points.
The team managed to maintain their impeccable records in the finals securing 8 of the 10 they have contested in and have won titles in Thailand, Swiss, India, Indonesia and the French Open, along with their bronze at the World Championships.
“This has been amazing week for us. We played amazing badminton today.” Said Satwik post-game along with great details on how their offensive play allowed them to bag the title. They showed a great point by point performance on the court and created an everlasting impression on the badminton loving crowd of Jakarta, winning the match well under an hour.
The success the duo had is quite an accolade as they are the first doubles Indian team to land the title while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth had earlier achieved the title in the singles in Jakarta.
Even with a difficult start of the season, Chirag and Satwik had a great comeback, they only looked forward to bettering their play and creating a watertight game-plan that allowed them to become the first ones to win S100, S300, S500, S750 and S1000 events from the country.
For the opening they played against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik sealing victory by a 21-17, 21-18 margin. The Malaysian duo were world champions who possess greater ranks and had a record of 0-8 prior the match. Chirag and Satwiksairaj had also won with a 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 score against the Koreans in the Semifinals for the same.
“More than winning the tournament, beating them is one of the highs. When we play (them) next time, we will play all-in again. We were playing well, we were in control,” said Satwik in the interview post victory.
The duo’s admirable determination, courage and sportsmanship allows their achievements to follow suit. They have created history not just in badminton but also in the aggregate field of sports and have maintained themselves to be few of the most consistent players in India.
