Satwik-Chirag loses in finals of Indian Open


New Delhi, Jan 22: Star Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a heartbreak at the India Open Super 750 tournament on Sunday as the pair went down in the final against world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Sang Jae.

Satwik and Chirag always had tough matches against their Korean rivals though they boasted a 4-1 head-to-head count in five meetings coming into the match with the latest being at the Malaysia Open last week.

The Indian duo played some breath-taking rallies, displaying amazing reflexes as they kept the Korean pair under the pump with some relentless hitting in the opening game.

The Indian pair made a sloppy start in the second, falling behind 1-5 but change of pace and angled returns helped them make it 5-7 with Satwik standing tall at the front court and producing a net kill.

A couple of net errors from Chirag during flat exchanges gave the Koreans a six-point advantage.