GOLD COAST: Young Indian doubles pair of Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty is just one step away from a historic gold medal as they reached the finals of the men’s doubles event at 21st Commonwealth Games’ badminton competition here today.
Satwik and Chirag outclassed Sri Lanka’s Sachin Dias and Buwaneka Goonethilleka 21-18 21-10 in 30 minutes to become the first Indian men’s doubles pair to enter the men’s doubles finals in Commonwealth Games.
Assured of at least a silver, Satwik and Chirag will be the first Indian pair to win a men’s doubles medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Satwik and Chirag will now face either top seed Malaysian combo of V Shem Goh and Tan Wee Kiong or England’s Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in the finals tomorrow.
At 17 and 20 respectively, Satwik and Chirag form a formidable pair that has proved its mettle in international badminton, often punching above their weight, only to fall short of podium finishes.
It was the Tata Open India International Challenge win that brought them into limelight in 2016. They also won in Mauritius and Bangladesh, but their biggest win came next year when they clinched the Vietnam Open international challenge.
They had managed to topple former Olympic and world champion Markis Kido and his partner Hendra Gunawan en route the title.
They also qualified for the Glasgow World Championship and managed to reach the quarters at the Korea Open and the French Open.
This year, Satwik and Chirag made it to the semifinals at Indonesia Masters and All England quarterfinals. (AGENCIES)
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