Satwik-Chirag defeats world champions to enter BWF French Open final

Paris: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the top seeds and past men's doubles winners, made their third appearance in the BWF Super 750 French Open final.

The world number one Indian pair defeated defending world champions Kang Minhyuk and Seo Seungjae of Korea 21-13, 21-16 in the semifinal late on Saturday night, advancing to their third consecutive final of the 2024 season.

The Indian pair previously made it to the final of the Malaysia Open at the start of the season but were defeated by the then-top-ranked Chinese duo of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. In the India Open final, Chirag-Satwik suffered a loss against the world champions.

India’s top duo will face Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the summit clash on Sunday.

The Indian duo encountered a tough test early in the opening game, with the score tied at 5-5. However, they managed to seize control by winning six consecutive points, leading 11-5 at the interval. Following the mid-game break, Satwik-Chirag maintained their momentum and comfortably secured the first game 21-13.

Following their convincing victory in the first game, the Satwik-Chirag continued to dominate in the second game. Despite Koreans displaying some resistance after the mid-game interval, the Indians' early lead proved decisive as they sealed the match in 40 minutes.

On the other hand, Lakshya Sen's encouraging run came to an end as he went down fighting to reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 22-20, 13-21, 11-21 in the men's singles semifinal.

Earlier in the tournament, Lakshya scored some big wins by defeating the 2021 French Open champion Kanta Tsuneyama, third seed Li Shi Feng and former world champion Loh Kean Yew.

With inputs from IANS