Malaysia Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty Script History, Clinch India’s First Silver Medal

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history as they won India's first-ever silver medal in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament.

New Delhi: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history as they won India’s first-ever silver medal in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament in any discipline. The shuttlers etched their names in history as they were the first Indians to win a silver medal in any discipline of the Malaysia Open in the Open Era, which spans back to 1983.

The No. 2 ranked World duo defeated Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae to secure their spot in the finals. However, they could not repeat that in the final against China’s C Wang and WK Liang. They started the match with a confident and dominant approach, winning the first set 21-9.

However, after a good fight, the Chinese shuttlers made an astonishing comeback and won the next two sets (21-18 and 21-17). The Indian duo fought really hard but couldn’t stop the comeback from their opponents.

Recently, the duo was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for their outstanding performance in 2023. However, they couldn’t attend the ceremony as they were competing in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament.

Satwik and Chirag had a breakout 2023 season as they secured India’s first badminton gold at the Asian Games while also winning the Asian Championships and the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title.