Hong Kong Open Super: India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, finally found a breakthrough in what has been a challenging year, storming into the final of the Hong Kong Open Super 500 with a dominant straight-game victory on Saturday.
The World No. 9 duo defeated the unseeded pair from Chinese Taipei, Bing-Wei Lin and Chen Cheng Kuan, with a commanding 21-17, 21-15 win, ending a streak of six consecutive semifinal losses in 2025.
Seeded eighth in the tournament, Satwik and Chirag will now take on China’s World No. 3 pairing of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who toppled Taipei shuttlers Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee 21-19, 21-8.
This final appearance is their first since winning the Asian Games gold medal in October 2023, and it comes as a huge morale booster after a year plagued by injuries, illness and personal setbacks. The duo, often hailed as pioneers of Indian men’s doubles, had been struggling to regain momentum after a difficult 12 months.
Satwik, 24, missed a significant portion of the season due to a recurring back issue and a painful elbow injury. His troubles were compounded by personal tragedy when he lost his father to a cardiac arrest in February 2025. Just as he began training again, a bout of chickenpox sidelined him further. Chirag, 28, has been dealing with a persistent lower back injury, forcing them to skip several events and impacting their synergy on court.
Later in the day, Lakshya Sen will take on third-seeded Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan in the men’s singles semifinal.
Article Source: IANS
