File image of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. (PHOTO: Federation Francaise de Badminton)
India’s crack men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open 2025, which is a prestigious BWF World Tour Super 1000 event. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty took down Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in straight games — with the score line reading 26-24, 21-15 — in a dominant performance on court.
Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi got massive support from the home fans. But it did not faze Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
“This is a good start to the year, we couldn’t have started on a better note. We want to still go as deep in the tournament as possible,” Chirag Shetty said after their win. “As athletes, these are the kind of stadiums you want to play in. You want to play in packed arenas in the crucial parts of a tournament. We really could not have asked for a better crowd. Obviously the crowd was supporting the local pair. But as a professional badminton athlete, this is one of the best stadiums to play in.”
“Hopefully the crowd will support us tomorrow,” chimed in Satwiksairaj Rankireddy with a grin.
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The first game of the quarters was particularly close contest, with the Indian pair clinching it eventually by a 26-24 margin. Rankireddy and Shetty were leading 19-16.
“It’s always like that when playing against them,” said Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. “The first game is always crucial playing against them. We were leading 19-16 in the first game, but they came back with the crowd supporting them. We did know we were playing a Malaysian pair so the crowd would be huge. But even we have a lot of fans here! We stayed positive and I’m really happy with the way we stayed in the crucial parts.”
In the semi-finals, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face South Korea’s formidable duo, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, in a high-stakes clash.
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