Satwik-Chirag win Singapore Open: Furious rallies, Yorker-smash, celebratory dances
Reaction times in fast, furious rallies were off the charts as Indians absorbed World No 2 Fajar-Fikri's torrent of criss crosses to win 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in 72 minutes
It’s been two long years since Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won a big badminton title. When it finally came in Singapore after a fight back for a 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 victory in 72 minutes, their iconic racquet-twirling and bhangra jigs were back. So was a rocking cradle celebration.
It was also two years of heartbreaking tragedy when Satwik lost his father. On Sunday as they beat World No.3 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri to win a Super 750, Satwik would explain the coordinated baby-celebration.
“Singapore is happy, because after Olympics we have been battling with that (lack of titles). Chasing for that one win. And when we thought we were on the right track, personal things happened. But suddenly one good thing was, last week my brother was blessed with a baby. So the celebration was dedicated to her. We felt like my father was reborn. So she was lucky. This win is dedicated to my family, with brother and mom in the US,” Satwik said.
Braving a first set loss and playing the decider for the fourth time this week, the Indians put up a show in fast, furious badminton to win the Super 750, becoming India’s first pairing to win Singapore. Their loss at Thailand finals had cast doubts. But their ability to problem-solve and come up trumps even when dragged into a flat game, blazed through this week.
The Indians lost a close first set after 18-18 as the two playmaking Indonesians aced the crisscross exchanges when closing out. But the Indians have hardly been thwarted by these early setbacks this week.
The Indonesians targeted Satwik who was scratchy in defense early on, with even his smashes going into the net. But the Indians have been sticking to their plan of Satwik getting used to front court duties till the halfway point in the match. Fajar-Fikri (FiFa) would also realise that he grows in confidence exponentially as the match progresses.
While the rallies stayed short mostly, the pace of the exchanges was breathless. FiFa are known for their flat crosses and surgical attacks as action remains concentrated on the front court. A 10-second rally could literally have 20 shots in play, and the Indian crouch defense was put to the test.
.Once Chirag stepped forward, the Indians picked up pace, but Satwik was also finding bissecting cross drives, even as the Indian serves swung between faults and fabulous.
“These matches you don’t get so many smashes to hit,” Satwik told BWF. “So you have to prove yourself you can play at the net as well. My job is to serve and catch first shot then hand it over to Chirag. I felt they were under pressure when we were chasing up and playing very much simple. When a few net chords helped us I thought today is our day. I was so happy.”
Opening up a 18-15 lead in the second set gave Indians the impetus and deflated Fikri who made a bunch of rush-of-blood errors. FiFa were anyway struggling to keep shuttle in bounds on the backlines. But coach Tan had also told Satwik-Chirag to be alert to the first three shots.
“With Indonesians, Malaysians it’s mainly about first four shots,” Satwik told BWF. “If they keep us under pressure they are on top, they are very good in those first 4 shots. So coach said don’t worry about back court, focus on front court.”
In the finishing stages of the second, Satwik found the line on a lofted shot and pushed a decider with a lucky net chord. The Indian attack by then had composed itself — absorbing pressure of the flat crisscrosses in defense, and pouncing on lifts given Satwik smashes were impossible to defend for the Indonesians.
Even as the Indonesians correctly attacked Satwik chasing him like a tracker about the court, he came up with the best point of the Singapore smashing success. On a dipping shuttle in front of him, when it was inches off the ground, he curled his wrists exquisitely with the racquet head pointing down to send the swishing lift to the back line for 9-5 in the decider.
When Fikri got going and reduced gap to 13-15, the Indian soaring attack was back. Three smashes from Chirag got dug out by Alfian, but they had no answer to the 4th from Satwik.
At 16-13 and 20-15, Satwik unleashed a hat-tip to India’s obsessed sport — cricket. With his version of yorker-smashes. No matter how good your defense — and the Indonesians have very good retrieving capabilities — there’s little you can do when the smash is aimed right at the toes. Alfian could only sweep it away on the floor — such was the precision. Satwik snuck in a yellow card in the middle of all this for not being ready quick enough to receive serve. But his last down hit was sent flying wide by a grimacing, glum Alfian.
“I’ve put in a lot of effort and energy in my celebration. Jokes aside, we knew the wins would come. Just a matter of time,” Chirag said.
It’s been two long years since Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won a big badminton title. When it finally came in Singapore after a fight back for a 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 victory in 72 minutes, their iconic racquet-twirling and bhangra jigs were back. So was a rocking cradle celebration.
It was also two years of heartbreaking tragedy when Satwik lost his father. On Sunday as they beat World No.3 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri to win a Super 750, Satwik would explain the coordinated baby-celebration.
“Singapore is happy, because after Olympics we have been battling with that (lack of titles). Chasing for that one win. And when we thought we were on the right track, personal things happened. But suddenly one good thing was, last week my brother was blessed with a baby. So the celebration was dedicated to her. We felt like my father was reborn. So she was lucky. This win is dedicated to my family, with brother and mom in the US,” Satwik said.
Braving a first set loss and playing the decider for the fourth time this week, the Indians put up a show in fast, furious badminton to win the Super 750, becoming India’s first pairing to win Singapore. Their loss at Thailand finals had cast doubts. But their ability to problem-solve and come up trumps even when dragged into a flat game, blazed through this week.
The Indians lost a close first set after 18-18 as the two playmaking Indonesians aced the crisscross exchanges when closing out. But the Indians have hardly been thwarted by these early setbacks this week.
The Indonesians targeted Satwik who was scratchy in defense early on, with even his smashes going into the net. But the Indians have been sticking to their plan of Satwik getting used to front court duties till the halfway point in the match. Fajar-Fikri (FiFa) would also realise that he grows in confidence exponentially as the match progresses.
While the rallies stayed short mostly, the pace of the exchanges was breathless. FiFa are known for their flat crosses and surgical attacks as action remains concentrated on the front court. A 10-second rally could literally have 20 shots in play, and the Indian crouch defense was put to the test.
.Once Chirag stepped forward, the Indians picked up pace, but Satwik was also finding bissecting cross drives, even as the Indian serves swung between faults and fabulous.
“These matches you don’t get so many smashes to hit,” Satwik told BWF. “So you have to prove yourself you can play at the net as well. My job is to serve and catch first shot then hand it over to Chirag. I felt they were under pressure when we were chasing up and playing very much simple. When a few net chords helped us I thought today is our day. I was so happy.”
Opening up a 18-15 lead in the second set gave Indians the impetus and deflated Fikri who made a bunch of rush-of-blood errors. FiFa were anyway struggling to keep shuttle in bounds on the backlines. But coach Tan had also told Satwik-Chirag to be alert to the first three shots.
“With Indonesians, Malaysians it’s mainly about first four shots,” Satwik told BWF. “If they keep us under pressure they are on top, they are very good in those first 4 shots. So coach said don’t worry about back court, focus on front court.”
In the finishing stages of the second, Satwik found the line on a lofted shot and pushed a decider with a lucky net chord. The Indian attack by then had composed itself — absorbing pressure of the flat crisscrosses in defense, and pouncing on lifts given Satwik smashes were impossible to defend for the Indonesians.
Even as the Indonesians correctly attacked Satwik chasing him like a tracker about the court, he came up with the best point of the Singapore smashing success. On a dipping shuttle in front of him, when it was inches off the ground, he curled his wrists exquisitely with the racquet head pointing down to send the swishing lift to the back line for 9-5 in the decider.
When Fikri got going and reduced gap to 13-15, the Indian soaring attack was back. Three smashes from Chirag got dug out by Alfian, but they had no answer to the 4th from Satwik.
At 16-13 and 20-15, Satwik unleashed a hat-tip to India’s obsessed sport — cricket. With his version of yorker-smashes. No matter how good your defense — and the Indonesians have very good retrieving capabilities — there’s little you can do when the smash is aimed right at the toes. Alfian could only sweep it away on the floor — such was the precision. Satwik snuck in a yellow card in the middle of all this for not being ready quick enough to receive serve. But his last down hit was sent flying wide by a grimacing, glum Alfian.
“I’ve put in a lot of effort and energy in my celebration. Jokes aside, we knew the wins would come. Just a matter of time,” Chirag said.
