Paris better brace for Satwik and Chirag, for they are coming. The top-ranked men's doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has won the BWF 750 French Open title, at the very same venue that will host the Paris Olympic Games 2024 in July-August - the Arena Porte de la Chapelle. (More Badminton News)
The ace Indian duo got the better of Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan 21-11, 21-17 on Sunday (March 10, 2024) to clinch their first BWF Tour title this season. This was their third final appearance this year and after failed attempts at the Malaysia Open and India Open, they were third time lucky.
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Satwik and Chirag had a near-invincible campaign at French Open, culminating in a powerful performance in the final. The degree of their dominance can be gauged from the fact that the Indian combine did not drop a single game all through the week, and never gave their opponents even a whiff of victory.
A similar story ensued against their world No. 16 rivals in the title clash, which was wrapped up in just 36 minutes. This was the shortest of the five finals played on the day, another indicator of the kind of form the Indians are in.
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With that, Satwik and Chirag's secured their eighth BWF Tour title overall and their second French Open triumph. They had won the French Open in 2022 and were runners-up in 2019.
In the lead-up to the summit meeting, Satwik and Chirag first set aside world championships bronze medallists Teo Ee Yi and Ong Yew Sin, and later accounted for reigning world champions Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyuk in the last-four stage.
The title victory at French Open will add valuable points to Chirag-Satwik's quest for Paris 2024 Olympics qualification. They do not have time to rest on their laurels, however. In less than 48 hours, the pair will commence their campaign at the prestigious All England Open BWF Super 1000 tournament.
