India’s star badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat the Chinese Taipei pairing of Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan 21-11, 21-17 to be crowned French Open men’s doubles champions for a second time.
The 2022 winners and the third time finalists started out the summit clash in a dominating fashion as they clinched the first game by a 21-11 margin. With the score locked at 5-5 in the first game, the Indians raced away to an 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval before eventually gaining an advantage in Paris.
The second game was comparitively tricky for the Indians as the trailed 9-11 at the mid-interval break, before finding their way back in, seizing the next 11 off the following 17 points. It was the shortest final on the day – ending in just 36 minutes.
The win came on the back of another impressive win in the semis for SatChi, that saw them blow the Korean pairing of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 21-13, 21-16 in 40 minutes.
In 2024, the victory marks a first title for the Asian Games gold medalists from last year in Hangzhou, who are also the prime contenders for a podium finish in Paris later this year at the Olympics. The Indian duo had finished second best at Malaysia Super 1000 and the India Super 750 this year.
More to follow
.