Four finals. Four titles.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their remarkable run this season with yet another victory in the final as they defeated world number 1 and top seeds Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 to clinch the Korea Open.
This is their second straight win over Alfian and Ardianto, having defeated them at the Indonesian Open last month. The Indian pair had won three titles already this year -- Swiss Open, Badminton Asia Championships and Indonesia Open.
The Indonesian pair were off to a good start and raced off to a healthy seven-point lead 11-4 at the mid-game interval. They capitalised on unforced errors by the Indians while also landing their powerful smashes.
Satwik-Chirag pushed hard to make a comeback in the game after the break, clinching six points in a row, including winning an incredible rally at 19-14. They saved a game point but eventually, Alfian and Ardianto won the game 21-17. This was the first time Satwik-Chirag dropped a game in the tournament.
Unlike the opening one, the second game started on an even note with Satwik-Chirag maintaining a slender lead and going into the mid-game break with a three-point advantage. Both Satwiksairaj and Chirag found their winners consistently, not allowing their opponents to break the momentum. The match went into the decider with Satwik-Chirag comfortably winning the second game 21-13.
Satwik-Chirag continue their supreme 2023 �� pic.twitter.com/l1B7nRWNf8
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) July 23, 2023
Satwik-Chirag took their chances in the final game and quickly opened a four-point lead. They went into the break ahead at 11-8. Alfian and Ardianto kept pace with their opponents, not allowing the Indian pair to gain a big advantage. However, Satwik-Chirag didn't falter and won a slew of points at a crucial juncture to go 18-12 up.
The victory came soon after as they won their first Korea Open title in their very first attempt, winning the third game 21-14.
Earlier in the semifinal on Saturday, Satwik-Chirag had defeated second seed Chinese opponents Wang Chang and Liang Wei Keng 21-15, 24-22.
Meanwhile, An Se-young continued her incredible dominance with yet another title win, defeating Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying in the women's singles final 21-9, 21-15. The home favourite and defending champion clinched her sixth BWF Tour title of the year, after winning All England, India Open, Singapore Open, Indonesia Masters and Thailand Open trophies.
In the men's singles final, Denmark's Anders Antonsen made a superb comeback after losing the opening game to beat Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 11-21, 21-11, 21-19. This was Antonsen's first World Tour title since January 2021.