Bangkok, 16 May

A gritty Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty showed nerves of steel as they stormed into the men's doubles final with a riveting three-game win over Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin at the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Saturday.

World No. 4 Satwik and Chirag, who won the title in 2019 and 2024, displayed remarkable composure under pressure to outclass the world No. 9 Malaysian pair 19-21 22-20 21-16 in a gruelling semifinal that lasted 82 minutes.

"It feels good. We didn't start the year off well, and we weren't mentally good because of the really bad start.

"As players, we are very, very driven, and we really wanted some answers, and finally the bronze at the Thomas Cup especially boosted our confidence and here we are playing our first final of the year," Chirag said.

"Hopefully We can go and win the title."

It will be their third final appearance at the USD 500,000 tournament and first of the season.

The Indian pair will have to recover from the 82-minute match when they face Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in the summit clash.

The Malaysians made a bright start, dominating the front-court battle to lead 3-1, but the Indians quickly caught up with some fine finishing to make it 5-5.

The match was dominated by lightning-fast rallies, packed with relentless angled attacking returns and immaculate defending.

The Malaysians had their nose ahead for most of the first half of the opening game, going into the break with an 11-8 lead. There were some brutal smashes from Chirag and Izzuddin, while Goh produced a few delightful drop shots.

A few unforced errors from Chirag, who found the net and also went long and wide, only increased the deficit to 9-15.

The Indians tried to narrow the gap to 12-16, but Izzuddin’s powerful smashes and quality defending against a barrage of attacks helped the Malaysians open up an 18-12 lead.

Two errors from Goh and a long shot saw the Malaysians’ lead reduced to three points at 18-15.

Another net error from the Malaysians made it four straight points for the Indians.

But the Malaysians regained the serve and when Chirag completely miscued a shot, it handed them three game points. They squandered two before Satwik hit the net to concede the opening game.

After the change of sides, it was once again a tight affair as the two pairs moved from 3-3 to 6-6. Both pairs engaged in short rallies, with Satwik and Chirag varying the pace of their smashes and forcing errors to lead 9-6.

A return of serve into the net from Chirag and a body shot from the Malaysians cut the lead to 9-10 before the Indians took a two-point advantage at the interval.

Goh stepped up at the net to produce a winner as the Malaysians again clawed back to 13-13. A brutal smash from Chirag helped the Indians once again open up a 16-14 advantage.

Another return of serve into the net from Chirag made it 16-16. A successful challenge on a serve error took the Indians to 18-16 and then 19-16. Chirag then pushed one wide, but the Malaysians sprayed one long to hand over two game points to the Indians. Satwik and Chirag squandered both, first when Chirag found the net and then when the Malaysians unleashed a smash.

At 20-20, the Indians came out on top after the highest-intensity rally of the match, which saw both pairs defend relentlessly. This time they converted after Izzuddin sprayed one wide.

The decider again started on an even keel with Satwik taking more initiative, including unleashing a flurry of smashes.

There was little to separate the two pairs as the score moved from 3-3 to 5-5. The Indians then reeled off six straight points, with the Malaysians committing too many unforced errors, as Satwik and Chirag opened up a decisive 11-5 cushion.

A brutal smash from Satwik and then a push to the backcourt meant the Indians were leading 13-6.

The Malaysians tried to mount a comeback, reducing the gap to 13-17, but they were too erratic as Satwik and Chirag found a way to make it 19-14. Chirag was called for a service fault for height before Satwik unleashed a cross-court smash to earn five match points.

A lucky net cord delayed the inevitable before Chirag put one away to seal a place in the final.