Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their third successive final and a second in two weeks, as they lost 21-15, 11-21, 21-18 to Koreans Seo Seungjae and Kang Minhyuk in the final of the India Open Super 750 on Sunday evening.
Starting off to huge cheers at the KD Jadhav indoor stadium, Satwik-Chirag opened at a fast pace, but a bit of over-eagerness stymied their aggression as they trailed 1-2. Great defence from Satwik saw them take a lead for the first time at 4-3, and Chirag's clever leave saw them continue that lead at 7-6. A partisan crowd had its effect as Seo mishit a regulation return in the next point, only for Satwik to restore the lead back to one when he went long with a floated return. A couple of emphatic smashes from both Chirag and Satwik as they counter-attacked at the net saw them lead 10-8, but Kang-Seo responded with deft flicks and clever defence to win the next point. Chirag read their flicked serve, and his smashed return could only find a response that went into the net, thus giving the Indians a 11-9 lead going into the break.
The Indians raced to a four-point lead on the back of service errors, and it proved contagious with either side gifting each other points as Satwik-Chirag lead 15-11. Satwik-Chirag ramped up the aggression as Kang-Seo battled with their best defensive abilities, facing the barrage of fast, flat shots that the Indians employed, but had no answer to their opponents taking a six-point lead at 19-13, and then 20-14. 21-15 was a formality and it came in what was the story of the game, Seo sending a shot into the net on the backfoot, unable to deal with the Indian's aggression.
The Koreans came armed with new angles in the opening of the second game, racing to a 6-2 lead, and then 7-4 with Seo finding the line with a delightful backhand. Satwik-Chirag then descended in to a sea of errors from which they were unable to recover, trailing 5-11 at the interval. "Just keep it simple. You are so good at what you do, but you have to give yourself a chance of doing it," said their coach, Mathias Boe to the pair, but it didn't seem to take root as Satwik-Chirag's errors just continued. Kang-Seo kept up their ferocious attack married to clever angles and within no time they had a 20-10 lead and duly converted their healthy advantage of game points to take the second game 21-11 and force a decider.
Satwik-Chirag lost the first point of the decider as Satwik went wide, but Chirag's aggressive net play saw him win the next few points and let out a loud roar, with the fans responded in kind as the Indian pair led 3-2. However, Kang-Seo were clever with their shots, slowing the pace and found the margins to take a 6-3 lead. A good challenge from Satwik-Chirag saw them draw it back to 4-6, but the Koreans were moving brilliantly, with Kang's interceptions taking their lead to 8-4 and then 9-5. A superb rally followed, and it was telling that Satwik-Chirag were unable to attack much, and they lost it with an unlucky flick into the net. Kang-Seo kept up their standards, and led 11-6 going into the interval.
Boe spoke about courage in his final piece of advice to his charges, and it seemed to pay off, as Satwik-Chirag played with fortune and high-risk strokes to drag it back to 12-10. Kang's flat shots duly made their return, but the see-saw nature of the decider saw the scores swing to 14-10 and then 14-12. The Indians kept up their fast-paced attacks at the net, but stunning defence from Seo kept them in the rallies, eventually forcing errors from Satwik-Chirag as they led 16-13. Chirag however, clawed back the gap to a point with a superb smash set up from clever front court play, and then Satwik digging out a sensational return at the back court to make it 16-17 for the Indians. Kang's brilliance at the net saw the Koreans claim the next two points as they inched closer to the title, now just two points away at 19-16. The home favourites did have a response, winning the next two points with flat, fast rallies, but Kang-Seo moved Satwik-Chirag all over in the next point, despite some superb defensive shots, eventually making it 20-18. Chirag sent a return straight into the net early in the next rally and collapsed in disappointment as it confirmed the world champions' victory, and Satwik-Chirag's run of losses in finals.
(You can relive the final as it happened, below)