Hangzhou: The Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the semifinal match against the previous world champion Malaysian team of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to go to the badminton men's doubles final at the 19th Asian Games on Friday.
The third-ranked team in the world, Satwik and Chirag, defeated the Tokyo bronze-medal-winning Malaysians 21-17, 21-12 to advance to the finals.
The opening game began as an extremely tight affair till the halfway stage as both sides were not willing to let go of even an inch, with the Indians leading 11-10 at the time of the mid-game break.
After the resumption, Satwik and Chirag surged ahead with a five-point advantage, which they later extended to seven. Despite the Malaysians' persistent efforts to narrow the gap, they managed to reduce the lead to three points. However, the Indians maintained their hold on the lead and secured the first game with a score of 21-17.
In the second game, the Indian duo swiftly established a four-point advantage and maintained their dominance, reaching an 11-3 lead as they approached the interval.
Satwik and Chirag persistently maintained their aggressive strategy, widening the gap to 15-5. Despite a few errors that gifted points to the Malaysians, the Indian duo maintained a firm hold on the match, enjoying a comfortable lead.
The Malaysians fought tenaciously to make a comeback in the match until the very end. Nevertheless, the Indians stood their ground, not allowing them to regain composure, and concluded the match by winning the second game with a score of 21-12.
Earlier in the competition, the men's team clinched the silver while HS Prannoy bagged a bronze.
With inputs from IANS