Satwik-Chirag become 1st men's doubles pair to clinch Asia Championships title, PM Modi lavishes praise

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history as they became the first Indian men's doubles pair to win the Badminton Asia Championships title. They ended drought of 58 years on Sunday, becoming the first Indians after Dinesh Khanna to be crowned champions at the tournament.

The duo made it to the summit clash after their opponents retired midway through the semifinal game on Saturday. This will be India's first men's doubles medal at the continental event after 52 years. Rankireddy and Shetty had earlier made it to the historic semifinals after beating Indonesia's pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 21-11 21-12 in the quarterfinals on Friday. 

The star shuttlers scripted a



sensational comeback after an opening game reversal to beat the Malaysian combination of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 21-16, 17-21, 19-21 in a nail-biting final.

Khanna is the only Indian to claim the gold medal, having achieved the feat when he beat Thailand's Sangob Rattanusorn in the men's singles final in 1965 at Lucknow. India's previous best performance in men's doubles at the Asia Championships was a bronze-medal finish by Dipu Ghosh and Raman Ghosh in 1971.

"Proud of Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty for scripting history by becoming the first Indian Men's Doubles pair to win the Badminton Asia Championships Title. Congratulations to them and wishing them the very best for their future endeavours," PM Modi tweeted.