Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the star Indian men’s doubles duo, made history on Sunday by clinching the Badminton Asia Championships gold medal. This is India’s second medal at the tournament after 1965 and their first in the men’s doubles category. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his happiness at their victory, tweeting, “Proud of @satwiksairaj and @Shettychirag04 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 endeavors.” They defeated the Malaysian duo of Ong Yew Sin-Teo Eo Yi by 16-21, 21-17, and 21-19, making a remarkable comeback after losing the first game. In the semifinal match, they faced Tokyo Olympics champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin from Chinese Taipei, winning a competitive first game by 21-18. The Indians took the match after their opponents retired midway through the match due to an injury to Wang Chi-lin.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) Media tweeted, “IT’S A GOLD! The wait of 58 years finally comes to an end as our very own Sat-Chi clinch the historic medal. 2nd for after 1965, 1st in MD category: @badmintonphoto @himantabiswa| @sanjay091968| @lakhaniarun1 #BAC2023 #IndiaontheRise #Badminton.”
