Hong Kong Open Badminton: Satwik-Chirag Defeat Malaysians Arif-Yap

It was a chill moment when Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made a smooth jump from 16-20 to 20-all in the second set, finally flashing a big smile and rediscovering the joy of men’s doubles.

It’s all about the excitement and fun, a real rush for pairs with racquets, and sometimes points are just won or lost based on a quirky racquet angle.

Satwik and Chirag Shetty dropped that set, 20-22, they came back to win the match 21-14, 20-22, 21-16 against the young duo of Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap, making it to the Hong Kong Open semifinal.

Indians managed to beat Malaysians even with the formidable Aaron Chia in their ranks, and on even days, they took down the Malaysians again, this time without Chia.

On Friday at Kowloon for the Super 500 Hong Kong Open, Chia – who had a tough loss at the Hong Kong Coliseum earlier this week.

India’s own Malaysian, coach Tan Kim Her, was there to help keep the Indians composed and remind them that they have a strong arsenal.

Arif and Yap are no pushovers. They’re a mix of Minions with a fierce attacking spirit, and Chia himself, who adds the strategic element to their offensive tactics, making the new Malaysians quite a challenge.

Chia was definitely there to guide them on how to pressure the Indians, as he’s historically been quite effective at it, although this World Championship saw Satwik-Chirag handle him quite well.

Even though the tournament is a Super 500, it’s a prime spot for many countries to test and refine their new pairs for the upcoming Olympic cycle.

This is especially true for the Malaysians and Taiwanese, who are set to challenge all the top pairings.

Yap-Arif represent the new wave and are focusing on exploiting the weaknesses of the Indian team – particularly their body defense against shots aimed at their ribs, which stem from those tricky Chia racquet angles.

Chirag and Satwik were targeted one after the other, but it was always in a whirlwind of action.

They were pushed back with a shuttle to the back court, which forced them to lift, and then they faced some serious smashing aimed right at their bodies.

It’s not a terrible strategy, but thinking that either Satwik or Chirag could be overwhelmed was a bit too hopeful.

As a result, even though they took the hits, their defenses remained solid. Malaysians could only watch helplessly as they started to fade away.

Satwik and Chirag are not just simple attacking machines. The Malaysian strategy fell apart when they ceased targeting the center and opted for the sides.

It’s Chirag who constantly finds himself as the main target of Malaysian assaults.

They cornered him with their strikes, but he skillfully maneuvered to dodge their angles and hit back hard, making them pay for their cross attacks.

As he roamed the back court, he adjusted his short smashes to exploit openings.

In the second set, when the Indians had a shot at closing it out, one of his serves was called an error because the Malaysian player sidestepped and let it drop.

He didn’t let that bother him, though, and made sure that in the final set, the opponents got no breaks and not even a hint of a lead.

Satwik and Chirag are set to face off against Taiwanese players Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing-Wei next.

The Taiwanese duo is currently ranked 99, whereas the Indian pair holds the 9th spot.