Satwiksairaj Rankireddy mighty happy with India Open win, says team played one of the best matches in final
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, said he was anxious for a podium result following a disappointing 2021 season, describing their performance at the India Open finals as "one of the finest ever." Satwik and Chirag Shetty defeated three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 21-16 26-24.
During a virtual conference, Satwik stated, "It was a dream match for us, we still can't believe it. We had a clear plan and we wanted to implement that and give 100 per cent. I feel we played one of the best matches ever, we stayed calm. I could see they were under pressure. So happy with the win."
The Indian duo had lost three times in four matches versus the world number two Indonesian pair, but they devised a strategy to lengthen rallies and play a more defensive game against the more experienced pair.
"We know how to play them, we played against them in Thailand Open last year. We wanted to stay neck to neck, we wanted to keep them under pressure. We thought let them make mistakes and let's not give easy points. They are best in taking quick points but we kept calm and played big rallies, that was the positive point. Even when we were 24-24, we wanted to play big rallies. I kept telling Chirag that we should just try to keep the shuttle inside."
Despite shocking victories in two of the three matches, Satwik and Chirag failed to go beyond the group rounds at their first Olympics. Last month, they lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships in Spain.
"Yeah, 2021 was a mixed feeling for us. We wanted to win a tournament, wanted to play a final. After world championships, I cried a lot, I wanted to win a medal," Satwik said. "I was crying literally, I had a fire that I wanted to finish at the podium as much as possible, so that hunger was there and luckily we could win here, hopefully we will continue this form."
His companion Chirag had stated that they wanted to finish in the top five in the globe this season. Chirag stated it was a performance worthy of being in the top 5 after startling Ahsan and Setiawan.
"We usually don't play this kind of a game, it is a new thing for us and it is working well and it shows that we can get points and win matches while defending, so I think we definitely played like a top 5 pair today," he said. "That is one thing which kinds of differentiates the top five pair and top 10 because things go your way, you try to change and play a plan 'B' kind of game, that in something that worked really well."
Lakshya Sen, a bronze medalist at the World Championships, completed the double delight by winning his first Super 500 championship with a surprising 24-22 21-17 victory over world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. "This is the biggest world tour tournament I won. Winning feels good.
In the match, in the closing stages, I was nervous and anxious to finish it off as it was a big tournament, but I am happy I could pull it off," Sen said. "I think I played some good physical matches since quarterfinals. It will give me a lot of confidence to go ahead and play the whole season. Winning a world tour 500 event is a big thing for me."
Sen said that he was nervous in the closing phases of the final. "I gave couple of easy points towards the end but after being a match point down, I played calmly. I took a break and it helped me to think better and play calmly." Sen and Loh met in Dubai last year to train and have faced each other four times on the international tour, with each winning two bouts.
"We know each other's game well, what to expect. I had beaten him last few months ago, I was confident and had a game plan and it worked well. I am happy I won today and again it was a close game," Sen said.
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