Malaysia Open 2025: Satwik-Chirag Advance to Men's Doubles Semi-Finals

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Star doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept India's challenge at the Malaysia Open 2025 alive as the duo advanced to the semifinals with a gritty victory at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (January 10).

The seventh-seeded Indians battled for 49 minutes to secure a 26-24, 21-15 win over the Malaysian duo of Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in the men's doubles quarterfinals of the prestigious Super 1000 tournament.

Reflecting on their performance, Satwik-Chirag said, "Great start to the year, we couldn't have started on a better note. We want to go as deep in the tournament as possible."

Satwik and Chirag, runners-up in the previous edition of the badminton tournament, will next face South Korea's Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo in the semifinals on Saturday (January 11).

Coming back to the last eight contest, the opening game was a nail-biter, with both pairs keeping the contest evenly poised. The Indians held a narrow 11-9 lead at the interval and extended it to 18-16.

The Malaysians, however, rallied, earning three consecutive points to level at 19-19 and even snatched a 20-19 lead. Undeterred, Satwik and Chirag displayed remarkable composure, saving four consecutive game points before closing the first game 26-24.

In the second game, the Malaysian pair started strong, leading for most of the game up to the interval with an 11-8 advantage. However, Satwik and Chirag staged an incredible comeback, winning 13 of the next 17 points to seal the match and book their third consecutive semifinal berth.

Earlier on Thursday (January 9), HS Prannoy, Malvika Bansod as well as women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand all made exits in the second round, while the likes of Lakshya Sen and the other women's doubles duo of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa crashed out in the first round.

Mixed doubles pairs of Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also made a first round exit, and so did Priyanshu Rajawat, Anupama Upadhyaya and Akarshi Kashyap. S Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath duo bowed out in the second round of the mixed doubles competition.