Historic! Satwik-Chirag pair wins gold medal at Badminton Asia Championships

Chirag Shetty (R) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (L) in action (Pic: AFP)

India's top men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian duo to clinch the top honours at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Sunday after winning a three-set thriller against Ong/Teo 16-21, 21-17, 21-19. The pair are also India's first medalists in the event since Dinesh Khanna's gold medal in singles in 1965.

The Indian duo sealed a spot in the summit clash after their opponents, the Tokyo Olympic champions Chinese Taipei's Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, retired midway through the second game of their semi-final clash.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, 22, from Amalapuram in Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai-born Chirag Shetty, 25, had won the first game 21-18 and were going neck-and-neck with their Chinese Taipei opponents at 13-14 when Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin withdrew, giving them a walkover.

Also Read: Satwiksairaj-Chirag ends 52-year wait for men's doubles medal at Asia Championships

Both had themselves assured a medal after 52 years in the men's doubles category when they got the better of Indonesia's experienced duo Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight games 21-11, 21-12 in the quarter-finals.

Satwik and Chirag, who won the bronze medal in Men's Doubles at the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo, have claimed two bronze medals in the Asian Team Championships (2016, 2020). Whatever medal they win on Sunday will be the biggest medal in their career.

The Indian duo have won five titles on the BWF World Tour and have twice finished runners-up.

More updates to follow...