Malaysia Open Badminton Highlights: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty go down in final

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty take on China’s top seeds Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang in the men’s doubles final of the Malaysia Open badminton. It is the first time an Indian player, singles or doubles, has reached the final of Malaysia Open in the Open Era. The Asian Games gold medallist beat world champions Korean pair of Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyuk in straight games in the semi-finals to advance to the title match. The Indian duo, ranked second in the world, scripted a remarkable comeback after being down in the second game, saving six game points during an eight-point burst to waltz their way to a 21-18, 22-20 win. It was the same Korean pair which the Indians had defeated in the semi-finals last June. Overall, Satwik and Chirag now have a 3-1 head-to-head record against world no. 3 Seo and Kang. Satwik and Chirag are chasing their second Super 1000 title, having won the first one at the Indonesian Open in June last year. Satwik and Chirag has been the most successful Indian players in the circuit last year, having won the Asian Games gold, titles in Asian Championship, Indonesian Super 1000, Korea Super 500 and Swiss Open Super 300. They also reached the finals of China Masters Super 750 in November last year.