Error-prone HS Prannoy signed off with bronze at the Asian Games, India’s first men’s singles medal in 41 years, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept the country’s hopes of a first-ever badminton gold alive after reaching the men’s doubles final. Friday. Satwik and Chirag, number one in the world rankings. 3, dished out a badminton masterclass to outdo Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, bronze medalists from Tokyo and former world champions, 21-17, 21-12 in 46 minutes of dominance.
(2023 Asian Games medal count | Full 2023 Asian Games schedule)
The Indian pair thus became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to secure silver at the Asian Games. The duo were also part of India’s silver medal-winning men’s team last week.
Satwik and Chirag, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medalists, will face Korea’s Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in the final on Saturday. The Indians have a 2-0 record against the Koreans.
While the doubles was simply sensational, Prannoy, playing with a back problem, succumbed to a pool of errors and went down 16-21, 9-21 to reigning All England champion, China’s Li Shi Feng, in the semi-finals earlier in the day to finish with a first bronze medal.
It was India’s second medal in men’s singles since Syed Modi claimed bronze in the 1982 edition in New Delhi.
Satwik and Chirag came into the match with a dismal 1-8 record against the Malaysians, but that didn’t matter as they landed their great smashes whenever there was an opportunity and were also good with their angles and placement.
The two pairs fought tooth and nail from the first point until 10-10 before Satwik produced a smash to take a one-point lead at the break.
On the restart, the Indian pair showed better expectations and quickly extended their lead to 16-10 before taking six game points.
A service error from the Indians and then a deceptive stroke from Soh helped Malaysia save three game points before Aaron sent his forehand into the net.
The Indians came out all guns blazing, with the pair seamlessly mixing defense and attack to zoom to 11-3 at the break.
The two showed great coordination and moved smoothly back and forth, with Satwik showing his excellent defense and Chirag complementing him.
Satwik and Chirag continued to dominate the rallies with their anticipation and interceptions, taking 10 match points after winning a net duel, converting in the third attempt.
Earlier, Prannoy made a good start but lost the plot halfway through the opening game, mainly due to the mistakes he made while looking for precision in his return, going wide and long.
Prannoy, 31, focused on building his rallies and used his drops well to take a 3-1 lead. He mixed his shots well, eschewing smashes and instead using throws to pin his opponent to the baseline.
Li tried to increase the pace and reached a 5-5 draw. The Indian then used his smash to take a point and soon moved to 8-5. He produced a deceptive return in advance to move to 9-7.
However, in search of precision, Prannoy missed the lines on the flank several times to allow the Chinese to recover. Li made it 10-10 before a deceptive drop gave Prannoy a one-point cushion.
He was leading 13-11 when things started to turn around as Li made it 15-14 while Prannoy made a mistake.
The Chinese also became more confident and used his attack to advance to 17-14. A straight jump smash kept Prannoy on his feet, but he soon fell behind to 15-19.
Li won a net duel to gain four game points, after which a lucky net rope ended the opening match.
The second game was also an initially tight affair as the duo battled to 4-4, but Li used his attacking returns and began to dominate the rallies to take a four-point lead at 8-4 with a net kill. Li had a five-point lead at the break.
With Prannoy finding it difficult to curb his mistakes, the points kept coming thick and fast for Li as he moved to 14-6. The Chinese looked sharper and showed better expectation to go to 19-9 in no time.
An on-the-line return gave Li 11 match points and he sealed it comfortably.
Prannoy admitted that not being able to reach peak fitness levels was one of the reasons for his defeat. The 31-year-old Indian played almost all his matches here with a heavily taped lower back.
“Thanks to Li. He played a very solid match. I had more chances in the first game, but they drifted away from me after 14-14. With my current fitness level, I am happy enough to reach the semi-finals in such a match to play.” a big stage,” said Prannoy.
“It’s the first time he’s beaten me and maybe my fitness played a role, but today he was much better prepared. The crowd gave him confidence. I think a combination of factors gave him the edge.” The shuttler also indicated that the taxing qualifying schedule for the Paris Olympics was taking its toll and that he will have to “take care of” his niggles.
“Unfortunately, there are numerous tournaments for that (2024 Olympics). A whole year of qualifications and so many tournaments can be cruel for some badminton players. I have to take care of these problems (back injury), so now it is important to get back and check my whole body to make sure I’m fit all year round.” Prannoy also admitted that the age difference between him and Li could also have been a factor in his loss.
“I think age is a factor because some of them (players) are 21 or 22 and they fly all over the field. We have to manage these youngsters but there is some fun in that too.”
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