Dubai | Star men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Sunday broke a 58-year-old drought, becoming the first Indians after Dinesh Khanna to be crowned champions at the Asia Badminton Championships here.
The 2022 World Championships bronze medallists scripted a sensational comeback after an opening game reversal to edge past the Malaysian combination of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 16-21, 21-17, 21-19 in a nail-biting final to accomplish a magnificent victory in the continental championship.
Khanna is the only Indian to claim the gold medal, having achieved the feat when he beat Thailand's Sangob Rattanusorn in the men's singles final in 1965 in Lucknow.
India's previous best performance in men's doubles at the Asia Championships was a bronze-medal finish by Dipu Ghosh and Raman Ghosh in 1971.
Satwik and Chirag, who claimed the Swiss Open Super 300 title in Basel, showed tremendous grit as they never gave up after losing the first game and being 7-13 and 11-15 down in the second and third game to secure the first gold for India in doubles.
It was the second title of the season for Satwik and Chirag, who continued to remain the best shuttlers for the country on display this season.
Besides the Asia Championships title, Satwik and Chirag also won the 2022 Commonwealth Games and five career titles on the BWF World Tour.
"I am over the moon. I and Satwik worked really hard for this medal and I am happy that we have finally won the title. Also, I would like to thank everyone back home for supporting me," Chirag said.
Satwik added: "It's a great feeling to win this tournament for the first time and I am sure we will win more such titles in the future. We will continue to work hard to bring laurels to the country." The two pairs came into the summit clash after sharing the honours in six meetings, with Satwik and Chirag coming up trumps in the semi-final of the Swiss Open in March this year.
Satwik, 22, from Amalapuram and Mumbai-born Chirag, 25, were relentless in their attack, sending down the shuttle at stiff angles and at a good speed, while Ong and Teo were rock solid in their defence.
There was little to separate the two pairs as the opening game started on an even note.
From 1-1 to 10-10, the two moved neck and neck before a hurried shot at the net by Chirag gave the Malaysians a one-point lead at the break.
The Malaysian duo ran up a series of points to quickly eke out a commanding five-point lead at 18-13. Chirag broke the run but Ong and Teo grabbed six game points when Satwik went long.
The Indians saved two before the Malaysians won an exciting rally with Teo diving twice to keep the shuttle in play to earn the bragging rights.
After the change of ends, Ong and Teo continued their impressive run, moving to 6-2 early on before zooming to 10-4.
The Malaysians were relentless in their approach as Satwik and Chirag failed to match up to their rivals, allowing the Malaysians to enter the mid-game break with a 11-6 lead.
Ong and Tea maintained a five-point lead at 13-8 before the Indian pair scripted a recovery. Satwik produced a backhand kill followed by a net error from Teo, who also sent the shuttler out, as soon the tables turned.
The Indians were 18-15 up as errors crept into the Malaysians game. Satwik and Chirag earned three game points and converted it on the first chance with Teo committing an error at the net.
The decider started with the two pairs trading blows. Ong and Teo showed great technical acumen as they slowly eked out a three-point lead at 8-5.
With Chirag spraying his smash into the net and following it up with another, the Malaysians grabbed an 11-8 lead at the break.
The opponents injected power and produced a few body shots to open up a 14-10 lead.
The Indians narrowed it down to 14-15 with Chirag dominating a fast exchange before drawing level. Following a net error from Ong, Satwik and Chirag went 17-16 up.
Ong then sent one wide as the Indians moved to 18-16. A great interception from the Malaysians was followed by a precise return from Chirag as it was 19-17 in India's favour.
A booming smash from the back from Chirag took India to three championship points. They squandered two before Satwik unleashed a body smash at Teo as Chirag lay flat on the court and Satwik broke into a celebratory dance.
Before this final, India had won one gold and 17 bronze medals in different categories at the continental Championships since 1962.
New Delhi | For over five decades, Dinesh Khanna would stay glued to the TV screen every time Indian shuttlers competed at the Asian Championship, hoping for his countrymen to break the gold medal jinx.
It was in 1965 when Khanna became the first Indian to win the men's singles title at the continental championships, a record that stayed intact for a good 58 years.
On Sunday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ended the title drought, claiming the gold medal in men's doubles with a 16-21, 21-17, 21-19 win over Malaysian combination of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in a nail-biting final in Dubai.
"When the Asia championships takes place, I do follow it closely and I have always been hoping that one of our players will be bringing home the Asia crown but it didn't materialise," Khanna told PTI.
"So I am really excited that Satwik and Chirag have won this title and made us proud, because Asian championships becomes a virtual world championships. It is a great moment for Indian badminton. My long wait for another Indian wining the title is over and let's hope this tradition continuous." Khanna, who hails from Punjab, was a sprightly 22-year-old when he had sown the seeds of success in Indian badminton with a win over Thailand's Sangob Rattanusorn in the men's singles final in Lucknow on November 14, 1965.
"They certainly brought back lots of nostalgia. It has been a long wait," said 80-year-old Khanna.
"I was just hoping that some Indians win it some day. Our other players like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth have done so well in World championships, Olympics but somehow nobody was able to win the Asia crown.
"Also this coming through a doubles combination is absolutely fantastic because doubles till a few years back was not being considered our strong point." Satwik and Chirag, who claimed the Swiss Open Super 300 title in Basel, showed tremendous grit as they never gave up after losing the first game and being 7-13 and 11-15 down in the second and third game to secure the first gold for India in doubles.
"It is a proud moment. They showed strong nerves. They were trailing by quite a margin to make from there and win the title, all credit to them for their skills and temperament for the nerves they displayed," Khanna continued.
"They have really gone to a different level and earlier also they have shown they are capable of beating any pair in the world.
"They are in excellent form and so I am really happy and proud that they won this title which they trully deserved. With the Olympics around next year, we can certainly have hopes on them," he signed off.