India’s star badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had another spectacular evening in Paris, winning the French Open badminton title for the second time with a dominant straight-game victory against Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the men’s doubles final on Sunday. The world’s No.1 Indian pair managed to finish as runners-up in the French Open in 2019 before winning the title in 2022. The Asian Games champions defeated Lee and Yang 21-11, 21-17 in 37 minutes to reclaim the Super 750 event title and their first crown of the season, having reached the summit clash for the third time in 2023.
Satwik and Chirag were vigilant and maintained a fast assault, and their defense was rock strong throughout the short and snappy rallies that they dominated from the start. The Indian pair caused opponents to make errors regularly, sending the shuttle wide and crashing it into the net twice as the Indians led 11-6 at halftime. Lee and Yang also made mistakes in their serves, while the Indians, particularly Chirag, made sound decisions on the lines. The Indians were 14-6 when Yang smacked a smash from Satwik into the net.
Satwik and Chirag fired a few shots toward the net as Lee and Yang attempted to extend the rallies. However, the Indians quickly snatched a 17-9 lead. Satwik delivered another accurate smash, and another flat exchange concluded with a fantastic smash from Satwik on the frontcourt, giving the Indians ten-game points. Satwik then delivered a cross-court smash as the Commonwealth Games champions capitalized on their second chance.
Lee and Yang began attacking immediately after the change of ends, taking a 4-1 lead. With coach Mathias continually offering directions from the bench, Chirag and Satwik swiftly regrouped and made it 3-4. The Indians leveled the score at 5-5 after the Taiwanese bungled a flick serve and then dropped one to the net. A couple of smashes on Satwik’s body gave the Taiwanese a few points, but the Indians maintained their lead at 8-7 with a torrent of sharp smashes.
Lee made some solid interceptions on the frontcourt and managed to maintain an 11-9 lead at the interval. When play resumed, Lee and Yang committed another serve fault since it was even-steven at 11-11. Chirag made another wise decision, instructing Satwik to leave the shuttle at the backline, making it 14-14. The Indians then piled up the pressure, standing up a bit near the net and stepping up the pace, eventually, winning the battle.
