Korea Open 2023: Satwik-Chirag pair reach men’s doubles semifinal

The third-seeded Indian pair defeated the fifth-seed Japanese pair Hoki and Kobayashi by a scoreline of 21-14, 21-17 in the men’s doubles quarterfinal match that lasted for 40 minutes on Court 1 at the Yesou City Hall in Yesou, South Korea.

Playing their first tournament since June, it was a closely contested opener till the first six points before the Indians surged ahead pocketing four straight points. Once ahead, Satwik and Chirag managed to keep their nose in front to bag the first game 21-14.

The Indians made a slow start in the second game as they trailed 3-6, but lifted their game just in time to claw back to grab six consecutive points to lead 14-9. The Japanese pair, however, were in no mood to give up without a fight.

Hoki-Kobayashi played aggressively and were also helped by some unforced errors by the Indians to draw level at 16-16. But Satwik and Chirag stepped up in the closing stages to win the game 21-17 to assure themselves a place in the last-four stage.

It was the fifth time that the two pairs clashed and the Indian pair got the better of the Japanese duo for the fourth time. The Asian Champions will next face second-seeded Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the last four match on Saturday (July 22).

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The top Indian doubles team has so far won two title on the BWF World Tour this year, having won the Indonesia Open last month and the Swiss Open in March. The duo have been on the rise since last year when they starred in India’s Thomas Cup win.

Satwik-Chirag pair are the only Indian shuttlers that got past the second round at the Korea Open 2023 as top singles shuttlers like PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth made first round exits, while HS Prannoy and women’s doubles team of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand crashed out in the second round.