Watch the historic moment featuring Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, as they assure the first World Championship medal for India in men’s doubles.
Watch: Historic moment that ensured India’s 1st World Championship medal in men’s doubles
The India men’s duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced into the semi-final of the BWF World Championships 2022 after earning a 24-22, 15-21, 21-14 win over Japan’s Yugo Kobayashi and Takuro Hoki. The victory ensured India’s first ever World Championship medal in the Men’s Doubles event, while also assuring their first medal of the ongoing edition. The sensational duo has already won gold medals for India at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Thomas Cup 2022.
Satwik and Chirag defeated World No. 2 combination in the quarter-finals in Tokyo, earlier today and will now face the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-final. Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan are scheduled to clash against Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto on Saturday in an all-Malaysian lineup, in a bid to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, the Indian duo has already claimed several notable records to their credit.
Watch Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty ensure India’s medal at World Championships:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty storm into record books
While they became India’s first Men’s Doubles pair to secure a World Championship medal, they are the second doubles pair from India to secure a medal. At the same time, this will be India’s 13th medal at the Badminton World Championships. It is pertinent to mention that, earlier in the day, India was denied the chance to secure their 2nd medal of the ongoing competition due to HS Prannoy’s defeat in the Men’s Singles quarter-final.
HS Prannoy fails to ensure 2nd medal for India after hard-fought loss in quarter final
The Thomas Cup 2022 gold medallist Prannoy went down by 21-19, 6-21, 18-21 against Zhao Junpeng of China in the high-octane quarter-final clash and exited the race for a medal on Friday. He started his campaign at the ongoing event in Tokyo with a 21-12, 21-11 win in the Round of 16. He then claimed a 21-17, 21-16 win over to-time champion Kento Momota on Wednesday in the Round of 32.
In the Round of 16, Prannoy earned a 17-21, 21-16, 21-17 win over his fellow Indian player Lakshya Sen and advanced into the quarter-final. Interestingly, Satwik, Chirag, Prannoy, and Lakshya won the prestigious Thomas Cup title for India earlier this year. Despite the fact that India is assured of only one medal in the tournament, the recent dominance of Indian players across different international competitions displays badminton’s growing stature in India.
