India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history on Sunday as they defeated world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia to win the country’s first-ever gold medal in men’s doubles at the Indonesia Open. The victory came just a month after Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships.

This victory at the Indonesia Open adds to their already impressive collection of titles, which includes a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, a gold medal at the Thomas Cup, a bronze medal at the World Championships, and wins at the Super 300 (Syed Modi), Super 500 (Thailand and India Open), and Super 750 (French Open) tournaments.

Over the past few years, the duo has consistently achieved notable milestones in Indian badminton, and their latest accomplishment came on Sunday when they defeated the reigning world champions with a score of 21-17, 21-18, making history as the first Indians ever to secure a Super 1000 title.

Tough fight in semi-finals

On Saturday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty knocked out Min Hyuk Kang and Seung Jae Seo of Korea in a tough battle to enter the finals of the Indonesia Open 2023. The Indian duo, who were ranked seventh, faced a challenging one-hour and seven-minute battle before emerging victorious over their unseeded Korean opponents with a score of 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in the semifinal match.

The BWF World Tour comprises six tiers that are categorized as follows, in descending order: the World Tour Finals, four Super 1000 events, six Super 750 events, seven Super 500 events, and eleven Super 300 events. Additionally, there is another tournament category called the BWF Tour Super 100, which also grants ranking points. These tournaments differ in terms of the ranking points they offer and the prize money available. The Super 1000 level provides the highest number of ranking points and offers the most significant prize pool among all the tiers.

(With agency inputs)

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Updated: 18 Jun 2023, 03:50 PM IST



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