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Malaysia Open: fine balancing act key to epic comeback by Rankireddy-Shetty | Scoop
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (left) and Chirag Shetty had pulled off a stunning comeback in their Malaysia Open semi-final yesterday. – Abdul Razak Latif/Scoop pic, January 14, 2024
Sports

Malaysia Open: fine balancing act key to epic comeback by Rankireddy-Shetty

Indian pair say speed of play, trusting partner key to defeat of Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae

Main Author Image
Faizal Salim
Updated
2:42 PM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Yesterday Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty pulled off an epic comeback against reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae from South Korea to book their place in the final of the Malaysia Open today.

Trailing 20-14 in the second set – having won the first 21-19 – the world number two Indian pair clawed back the deficit to win the set 22-20 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.

Rankireddy attributed the victory to his partner’s stellar serving, and Shetty’s adept play in the front court contributed significantly to the points gained during the comeback.

The Mumbai-born Shetty explained how the Thomas Cup-winning pair rallied to turn the tables on the World Tour Finals men’s doubles gold medallists.

“There are two ways of thinking about it; if you start playing slow, you will end up losing points. But if you play too fast, you end up giving up points also. So there needs to be a fine balance where you need to know if you need to catch the shuttle.

“But if you start playing safe and drop your hand thinking your partner in the backcourt is controlling it every time, then you are just playing a very plain game.

“That was important, especially from 20-14, I served and then caught the first stroke quite well. When I thought it (the shuttle) was not mine, I (knew I) should just leave it for Rankireddy because I knew he would be behind me.

“It was a very fine balance and we did it quite well (yesterday),” he said.

The match drew parallels to the 2006 Malaysia Open men’s singles final, where Datuk Lee Chong Wei faced a 20-13 deficit in the rubber set against his long-time nemesis Lin Dan of China. 

The three-time Olympic silver medallist clawed his way back to win the decider 23-21. – January 14, 2024

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