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Two-time former champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the final of the Thailand Open once again after missing last year's edition, defeating Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 at the Nimibutr Stadium in Thailand on Saturday.
The Malaysians had the better start in the opening game, taking control from 7-all to open up a six-point lead at 15-9. Although Satwik and Chirag attempted to narrow the gap in the latter stages, the Malaysian pair held firm to take the game 21-19, according to a press release from BAI Media. A closely fought second game saw both pairs battle for points, with the Indians reaching game point at 20-18. Refusing to back down, the Goh-Nur duo saved two game points to level the scores, only for the Indian stars to clinch the game 22-20 and force a decider. Champions in 2019 and 2024, Satwik and Chirag then dominated the third game, sealing a comfortable 21-16 victory to book their place in the final. With this victory, they registered their first finals of this season. The Indian pair will next face the winner between Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin and China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the title clash. Earlier in the Round of 16 clash, Satwik-Chirag defeated their Malaysian opponents, Goonting Bryan Jeremy and Haikal Muhammad, 21-12, 21-19. Earlier in the men's singles, Lakshya Sen, the runner-up at the All England Open, was eliminated by Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Kunlavut started with an early 11-2 lead in the opening game, but Lakshya responded strongly with five consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four. Despite a hard fight, the Indian shuttler could not get past the Olympic silver medallist, losing 19-21, 16-21. (ANI)
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