Despite Indian shuttlers winning numerous international titles over the past decade or so. They haven’t really made the cut when it comes to the Badminton Asia Championships.
Their injury while trailing forced their opponents to retire in the semis. Making them the only Indian team to reach the final.
The best Asian shuttlers, who largely dominate the game. Compete to be the continent’s best in the annual event, which is one of the toughest on the calendar. Like PV Sindhu did last year.
The Indians have won multiple bronze medals, but they have rarely reached the final. The main time an Indian entered the highest point conflict was in 1965.
When Dinesh Khanna won the men’s singles crown in Lucknow in just the second version of the competition.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the men’s doubles final on Saturday evening in Dubai after their opponents.
Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei. Retired in the semi-finals due to a bad fall in the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall.
Shetty was in for a surprise when he requested a medical timeout at the start of the second game. Following a very close first game in which India’s Commonwealth Games champions held their nerve to win.
Shetty continued with the niggle after getting sprayed on the ankle. The second game was also going to be close.
On Court 1, Satwik and Shetty led 21-18 and 13-14 when Wang fell and couldn’t move his left leg. The tournament doctors treated Wang during a medical timeout.
The Taiwanese player decided to withdraw from the semi-final due to pain. The Indian team competed in their second final of the year.
Shetty and Rankireddy continued to publish their list of “firsts” with the outcome.
At the Commonwealth Games, they became the first Indian men’s doubles team to win gold.
They are the only men’s pair from India to win a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2022.
They are the first Indian men’s combine to reach the top 10 in world rankings. They are the only Indian pair to win a Super 500 or larger event.
India’s victory in the Thomas Cup last year was one of the sport’s greatest accomplishments, largely due to the duo.
The World No. 6 pair will compete in their second final of the year on Sunday. In March, they won the Swiss Open in Basel, their first title of the year.
Rankireddy and Shetty will face Malaysian eighth seeds Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi. Who is also ranked eighth in the world, after defeating the Olympic champions in their third match?
The Indian sixth seeds have a head-to-head record of 3-3. The only match played this year at the Swiss Open semi-finals was won by them.
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