New Delhi: Throughout their 37-minute men’s doubles semi-final, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty played as if the match was hanging by a thread. When they were on point, their drops and smashes were impressive. But when they faltered, the mistakes stood out, handing points to their Malaysian rivals.

Saturday was more about the moments when the world No.9 duo wasn’t at their best, leading to their exit from the $950,000 India Open after a 18-21, 14-21 loss to third seeds Nur Izzuddin and Goh Sze Fei, marking the end of India’s run in the Super 750 event.

Despite coming in with a solid 6-1 record against them, it had been nearly three years since their last encounter at the 2022 Thomas Cup, where Satwik and Chirag played a key role in India’s victory. Since then, Nur and Goh have made significant strides, especially over the past year, reaching five finals on the BWF World Tour and winning three, which has propelled them to a career-high ranking of world No.2.

“We should have wrapped up the first game, but hats off to them; they were really strong in their service game, which caught us off guard since we didn’t prepare for it. That said, we could have stayed a bit more composed,” Chirag reflected.

“It was mainly the service game. We didn’t anticipate so many flick serves coming our way, probably because we haven’t faced them in almost three years.”

Shetty kicked things off strong at the net, helping the seventh seeds take an early lead at 8-5. However, Goh and Nur quickly evened things up at 10-all. Nur was super aware up front, staying cool under pressure and extending rallies, which led to some mistakes from the Indian duo.

Nur not only set the pace of the game but also knew exactly where to place his shots, causing Satwik and Chirag to falter at the net. This allowed the Malaysians to score seven consecutive points, turning a 12-15 deficit into a win as they wrapped up the game comfortably.

Goh and Nur carried that momentum into the second game, snagging the first five points and jumping to an 8-2 lead. But the crowd at KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium erupted as the Indians made a fierce comeback, leveling the score at 10-all. Just when it seemed like it would be an exciting finish, the Malaysian third seeds took control, winning seven straight points from 14-all to clinch the game and secure their first final of the year.

“We got off to a good start. But today, the shuttle was flying compared to the last few days. The team that controlled the net was the one scoring points, and they did that much better,” Satwik commented.

If the shuttle had been a bit slower, we might have woken up and had a longer rally game. But they were pretty sharp with their first four shots and snagged quick points. We could have disrupted their flow, but they were on point. It was just their day.

Now, the third seeds are set to take on Malaysia Open champs Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae from South Korea, who took down fifth seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik from Malaysia with scores of 22-20, 21-19 earlier today.

Even though they lost, the Asian Games gold medalists have been looking solid, making it to the semi-finals in all three tournaments – China Masters (Super 750), Malaysia Open (Super 1000), and India Open (Super 750) – since they got back on the circuit after the Paris Olympics.

The Indian duo will be hoping to stay injury-free as they head into the new season. Chirag is dealing with a strapped right shoulder and some stiffness in his back, while Satwik took a nasty fall, twisting his right ankle a bit in the second game. “I need to check it out. I twisted it pretty badly,” Satwik mentioned.

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