Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history again as they won India's first BWF Super 1000 title, beating reigning world champions, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, 21-17, 21-18 in the final on Sunday.
It was the fast-rising Indian pair's first Super 1000 title - and the biggest BWF win of their career so far, and it was poetically won against their bogey pair who they had lost to eight straight times before.
To say it is one of the biggest moments of Satwik and Chirag's young career is an understatement - win their first Super 1000 in their first final, beating one of their nemeses at a packed Istora, one of badminton's most significant venues.. It doesn't get better than this.
The Indians won the final convincingly, beating the second seeds in just 42 minutes. Both pairs were coming off thrilling semifinal wins where they fought back from a game down. It was the Malaysians that started strong, racing away to a 3-0 lead in quick time. But the Indian put behind the starting troubles and stepped up the attack that saw them reach the final.
Their aggressive play kept forcing errors from their opponents, who were suffering from nerves of their own having never won a BWF World Tour Title before. Once the Indians settled in rhythm, they forced the pace of play and headed into the interval with a small 2-point lead. The second half of the game saw their attack continue to reap rewards and they converted their first game point to edge ahead.
It was impressive display from the seventh-seeded Indians against a pair who used to have an edge over them. Once they recovered from the early deficit, they were easily the better combination and kept their foot on the gas to allow minimal slip ups.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with the Indian heading into the interval with a bigger, 4-point lead. The serve kept exchanging sides but everytime Satwik and Chirag lost serve, they recovered it right back with quick, attacking points not letting their opponents build any momentum.
By the end, they were looking at a straight games win. Soh and Chia saved four of the six championship points but another untimely error from the world champions saw the Indians create history.
This is their third title of the year, after the Swiss Open in March and Asian Championship in April. It's also a big win in terms of the Olympic qualification cycle.
After disappointing, early exits in the last two weeks, the Indians were standout this week. They beat Kang MinHyuk and Seo SeungJae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a thrilling semi-final. Earlier, they had knocked out top seeds and home favourites Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in commanding straight games.