Kuala Lumpur: Indian shuttler duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out of the Malaysian Open badminton tournament after losing the semis in straight games against Korea's Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae here in the men's double on Saturday.
Seeded seventh, Satwik and Chirag, who reached the finals last season, lost 10-21 15-21 in a 40-minute semifinal clash.
"They played really well, and we could have followed our game plan a bit better. Instead, we played some random strokes, but kudos to them for playing a solid game," Satwik told reporters.
"Today, the pace of the game was very slow compared to the last three days. It's part of the game. It was a valuable learning experience for us. It is disappointing, but we have a long way to go. Today's match showed that we can still make it a good fight." The Asian Games champions struggled to get the right start and trailed 6-11 at the break in the opening game. Despite their efforts, the Indians could not make a comeback as Kim and Seo wrapped up the first game in just 19 minutes.
After the break, Satwik and Chirag showed better control and intent, making it 11-8 at the interval. However, they couldn't maintain the momentum, allowing the Koreans to recover and seal the contest comfortably.
Kim and Seo have reunited for the 2025 season after finding success with other partners.
Seo previously partnered with Kang Min Hyuk to the world title in 2023 and reached world No. 7 with Choi Sol Gyu before that. Kim, on the other hand, claimed the silver medal for the mixed doubles alongside Jeong Na-eun at the Paris Olympics.