BWF World Championship | Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy assured of bronze medal in men's doubles
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Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India made history by winning the men's doubles medal at the BWF World Championships 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. They did this by making it all the way to the semis, after they beat second seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 24-22, 15-21, 21-14.
Only one of India's 12 medals from the world championships — the bronze won by Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women's doubles event in 2011 — has come in the doubles. The gold medalists from the Commonwealth Games, Chirag-Satwik, will now compete against Malaysia's sixth seeds, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, in the semi-finals in an effort to reach an unprecedented final.
The third-seeded Indonesian veterans Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan defeated the other Indian pair, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, 21-8, 21-14. They became the first Indian men's doubles duo to go to the final eight at the global championships. In the men's singles, Zhao Jun Peng of China defeated India's HS Prannoy 21-19, 6-21, 18-21, keeping him from capturing a maiden medal.
Prannoy, who had already defeated former world champion Kento Momota and CWG champion Lakshya Sen, battled valiantly to win the opening game before deciding to save his strength for the decisive third game. The third game was tied at 11-11 before Prannoy made a few costly turnovers that gave Jun Peng the opportunity to win seven of the following nine points and seize the lead with a score of 18-13.
Prannoy battled back, hitting some magnificent smashes and strategically building points to close the margin to 19-17 and 20-18, but Zhao Jun Peng maintained his composure and delivered a cross-court smash that caught Prannoy off guard, leading to an easy victory.
