Indian challenge ends at Malaysia Open as Satwik, Chirag crash out in semi-finals vs Chinese doubles pair

India's top ranked doubles pairing, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fell to a defeat in the Malaysia Open 2023 on January 14, Saturday. The Indian doubles duo lost to China's Liang Keng and Wang Chang in a three-set battle in the Super 1000 tournament.

The Chinese pair who are ranked 17th in the world pulled off an incredible win against the ranked 5th pairing. Satwik and Chirag were pegged back from the start after losing 21-16 in the first game. They came back in the second game, recording a stunning 21-11 victory. However, they were not able to take the momentum in the third game and lost 15-21, succumbing



to a defeat.

The Indian duo have had a spirited 2022 and are without a shadow of a doubt one of the best India doubles team ever produced. The match on Saturday was a close affair with fast-paced rallies. The Chinese duo did well with their defensive, blocking a tremendous amount of smashes that resulted in the victory.

The match was characerised by some stunning rallies in the final game, but the Chinese duo pulled into a lead from the start, one that Indians were not able to overturn.

The Indian duo will next be seen in India Open, that is scheduled to start on 17 January.