Star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Saturday reached their first BWF World Tour final of the year after reaching the title clash of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 event.
The Indian pair beat World Champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Jae Seung 21-18, 22-20 in a 47-minute semi-final clash. Rankireddy and Shetty have also become the first Indian pair to reach the Malaysia Open final.
The semi-final pitted the reigning World Champions against the Asian Games gold medallists with the Indians boasting a 3-1 head to head record.
They started strongly, racing to a 9-4 lead before the South Koreans chipped at the lead and came within a point of the Indians. Kang and Seo were solid in defence and came within a point from levelling the game on two more occasions but Rankireddy and Shetty eventually closed out a close first game 21-18.
After a close start to the second game, Kang and Seo opened up a five-point lead at the mid-game interval. The South Koreans then brought up six game points as they looked certain to force a decider in the match.
However, Rankireddy and Shetty went into their zone as they rattled off eight points in a row to snatch the second game in style and seal a superb win.
The second seeds will face China’s top seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the final. The Chinese pair hold a 3-1 head to head record against Rankireddy and Shetty.