World Tour Finals: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy And Chirag Shetty Outwit Alfian-Fikri, Get Closer To Knockouts

India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out a solid performance to outwit the Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in their second Group B match, inching closer to the knockout stage of the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Thursday. The former world No. 1 Indian pair shored up their defence and dominated the proceedings to register a 21-11, 16-21, 21-11 win over world No. 8 Alfian and Fikri in the men's doubles match that lasted an hour. With two wins from two matches, Satwik and Chirag now lead the group and have built a considerable advantage in point difference.

Third seeds Satwik and Chirag will face second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in their last group match on Friday.

Facing a pair known for their exceptional front-court skills, the onus was on Chirag, but he was ably supported by Satwik, who was simply flawless in the evening.

The Indians changed their aggressive approach to a more blended mix of shots and pace to counter the Indonesians.

Two deep pushes from Chirag and a series of shots buried at the net from the nervy Indonesians saw India make a 6-0 start in the opening game. The focus was on getting the service-and-receive situation right and keeping it tight, and the Indians aced it to enter the mid-game break with a commanding 11-2 advantage.

Alfian and Fikri began putting pressure on the Indians in rallies to reduce the deficit to 6-12. Chirag once again stepped up with a cross-court shot to regain the serve.

However, the Indians faltered in defence as their rivals clawed back to 9-13. Chirag responded with two steep smashes to extend the lead to 18-10.

The Indians did not try to engage the Indonesians in prolonged exchanges and instead fired away early shots to dominate.

Satwik and Chirag earned 10 game points and converted on their second opportunity after some flat exchanges.

In the second game, the two pairs were locked at 3-3 early on. The Indonesians did not allow the Indians to attack and ran up a four-point lead at 8-3, forcing errors by keeping the shuttle flat and low.

Satwik regained the serve with a push before a fortunate net cord made it 4-9. A jump smash from Chirag narrowed the gap, and the Indians mixed their shots and varied the pace to move to 8-9. At the interval, the Indonesians led 11-9 after Chirag slipped.

The Indians pulled level at 11-all, but Alfian and Fikri regrouped to surge to 15-12 and then 17-13, despite Chirag producing a behind-the-back shot and a fine low pickup to keep rallies alive.

At 14-18, the Indians played a superb rally, with a relentless Chirag stamping his authority on the game.

However, he lost focus in the next moment as it became 19-15. A wide shot from Chirag handed four game points to the Indonesians, who converted immediately to force a decider.

In the third game, the Indians established a 6-2 lead, which included two accurate shots landing on the backline.

Satwik and Chirag showed good anticipation to surge to 9-3. Chirag sealed a commanding 11-4 lead with a smash after a long criss-cross rally.

Alfian smashed into the net upon resumption, but the Indonesians again stepped up the pace to reel off four straight points to make it 9-12.

The rallies became faster and longer as the Indians moved to 16-10 after the Indonesians found the net twice.

A body shot at Satwik from Alfian kept the Indonesians afloat briefly, but errors continued to creep in as it became 18-11 in India's favour following another moment of brilliance from Satwik.

Two mistimed shots from the Indonesians handed nine match points to the Indians, who sealed the contest when their opponents sprayed one into the net again.

Topics mentioned in this article

Chirag Shetty Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Badminton