Thailand Open: Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defy odds to become first Indian pair to win Super 500 event

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Image Courtesy: The Indian Express

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the nation’s first men’s double paring to win a Super 500 event after stunning their opponents Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen, who were the reigning world champions at the Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok on Sunday.

Image Courtesy: The Indian Express

Rankireddy and Shetty clinched the first game by the narrow scoreline of 21-19 to take an early advantage in the match. But the pairing failed to capitalize and soon handed three straight points and went down 18-21 in the second.

But the young Indians did not lose hope and held their nerve to stun the world champions and take home the trophy, beating the Chinese pair 21-18 in the decider. The match saw itself being played for over an hour.

This wins sees both Rankireddy and Shetty became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win a Super 500 tournament or above. Their previous best performance came in the Hyderabad Open Super 100 tournament in 2018 when they won it.

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