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bangkok16 May. The renowned Indian pair of two-time (2019 and 2024) former champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the men’s doubles final of the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament for the third time by defeating Malaysians Goh J Fei and Noor Ijuddin in a thrilling three-game match here on Saturday.

The Indian team had to struggle for 82 minutes on court number one.

Former world number one and currently ranked fourth in the BWF world rankings, Satwik and Chirag defeated the ninth ranked Malaysian pair 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 after a struggle of 82 minutes in the second match of the day played on court number one of Nimibutra Stadium. With this, the match record of Indian stars against the third seed Malaysian pair became 8-2.

Will meet Indonesian team in the final

Top seeds Chirag-Satwik, trying for the third and first title of the current season in Bangkok, will now face unseeded Indonesians Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Martin, who defeated the Chinese pair of He Zi Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 21-15, 21-18 in 44 minutes.

It is noteworthy that even after winning the bronze medal in the Thomas Cup in Denmark, Satwik and Chirag were in the news recently for their statement that badminton did not get priority and appreciation in India. However, he kept aside the external noise and entered the finals with a brilliant performance.

struggle with injuries and Thomas Cup victory attributed to best performance

After registering a close win over the Malaysian team, Satwik and Chirag Shetty said that battling injuries and failures over the years has made them mentally strong. It is noteworthy that this Asian Games champion Indian pair had to withdraw from tournaments like Asian Championship and Swiss Open due to Satwik’s shoulder injury.

We have now become accustomed to fighting injuries – Satvik

Satwik told BWF, ‘Now we have become used to it. There was a period when we wondered why this was happening, but later we understood that this would definitely happen in the game. We play very aggressively so injuries are bound to happen. I have learned to deal with them now. It is important to adjust to this, maintain patience and support each other. When I am not completely fit, my partner supports me completely. Coaches also deal with injuries very well.

‘Being on the podium once can change your life’

The star shuttler credited India’s historic win in the Thomas Cup 2022 for changing the team’s mindset and boosting confidence. He said, ‘I used to tell the players during the Thomas Cup (Denmark) that being on the podium once can change someone’s life. The same thing happened with us after the 2022 Thomas Cup. After that we did not look back. Our thinking changed and we started playing with more confidence.