Badminton Asia Championships 2023 Recap: Satwik-Chirag script history with doubles gold

Lakshya Sen made a shocking first-round exit.

The Badminton Asia Championships 2023 took place at the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates over the course of 6 days from April 25 to 30, 2023. The inception of the Asian Badminton Championships dates back to 1962, and it has been held annually since 1991. Initially, the event was organized as both team and individual competitions. However, since 1994, the team event has become null (held separately) and the focus is solely on individual competitions.

Indian players have had a notable presence at the Badminton Asia Championships, with several medal-winning performances over the years. Here is a concise summary of India's triumphs in the championships so far -

In the men's singles event, Dinesh Khanna won the gold medal in 1965 and a bronze in 1969, becoming the only Indian player to win the event until Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history by winning India's first-ever gold medal in doubles in the Badminton Asia Championships 2023. This is India's second gold in the tournament. Suresh Goel won a bronze medal in the year 1969, while Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand won bronze medals in 1976 and 2000 respectively. Anup Sridhar secured a bronze in 2007 and HS Prannoy won a bronze in the year 2018.

In women's singles, Meena Shah won a bronze in 1965, while Saina Nehwal won bronze medals in 2010, 2016 and 2018. Two-time Olympic medalist and World Champion, PV Sindhu won bronze medals in 2014 and 2018 respectively.

Dipu Ghosh and Raman Ghosh won a bronze in 1971 in men's doubles. The women's doubles and mixed doubles events have not yielded any medals for India so far.

India's performance at Badminton Asia Championships 2023

In the 2023 edition, a strong contingent led by PV Sindhu, represented India. The players were off to a good start but their performance deteriorated in the subsequent rounds. The Indian singles challenge came to an end as PV Sindhu was knocked out of the quarter-finals of the women's singles.

Similarly, in the men's singles event, HS Prannoy ranked 9th in the world withdrew midway through his quarter-final match against Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama due to injury. The women's doubles pair, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand pulled out of the tournament in the second round due to an injury.

There's a cause for celebration because Satwik and Chirag won the second Indian gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in the men's doubles category.

India's Results in Badminton Asia Championships 2023

Men's Singles

Lakshya Sen

• Round of 32: Lakshya Sen lost to Loh Kean Yew (7-21, 21-23)

HS Prannoy

• Round of 32: Phone Pyae Naing lost to HS Prannoy (21-14, 21-9)
• Round of 16: HS Prannoy beat Dwi Wardoyo (21-16, 5-21, 21-18)
• Quarter-Finals: HS Prannoy (Retired) vs Kanta Tsuneyama (11-21, 9-13)

Kidambi Srikanth

• Round of 32: Kidambi Srikanth beat Adnan Ebrahim (21-13, 21-8)
• Round of 16: Kidambi Srikanth lost to Kodai Naraoka (14-21, 22-20, 9-21)

Women’s Singles

Malvika Bansod

• Round of 32: Malvika Bansod lost to Akane Yamaguchi (23-25, 19-21)

Aakarshi Kashyap

• Round of 32: Aakarshi Kashyap lost to Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi (6-21, 12-21)

PV Sindhu

• Round of 32: PV Sindhu beat Wen Chi Hsu (21-15, 22-20)
• Round of 16: PV Sindhu beat Han Yue (21-12, 21-15)
• Quarter-Finals: PV Sindhu lost to An Se Young (21-18, 5-21, 9-21)

Men’s Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty

• Round of 32: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat Tan Kian Meng/Tan Wee Kiong (21-14, 21-17)
• Round of 16: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat Jin Yong/Na Sung Seung (21-13, 21-11)
• Quarter-Finals: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (21-11, 21-12) 
• Semi-Finals: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat Lee Yang/Wang Chi Lin (21-18, 13-14, Retired) 
• Final: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty beat ONG Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi (16-21, 21-17, 21-19)

Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala

• Round of 32: Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala lost to Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (15-21, 17-21)

PS Ravikrishna/Sankar Prasad Udayakumar

• Round of 32: PS Ravikrishna/Sankar Prasad Udayakumar lost to Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee (12-21, 17-21)

MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila

• Round of 32: MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila lost to Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi (21-12, 16-21, 12-21)

Women’s Doubles

Treesa Jolly/Gayatri

• Round of 32: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand beat Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto (17-21, 21-17, 21-18)
• Round of 16: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand lost to Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong (Walkover)

Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam

• Round of 32: Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam lost to Meilysa Trias Puspitasari/Rachel Allessya Rose (22-20, 12-21, 18-21)

Haritha Manazhiyil H/Ashna Roy

• Round of 32: Haritha Manazhiyil H/Ashna Roy lost to Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai (11-21, 2-21)

Mixed Doubles

Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy

• Round of 32: Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy beat Chan Peng Soon/Cheah Yee See (21-12, 21-16)
• Round of 16: Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy defeats Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung (Walkover)
• Quarter-Finals: Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy lost to Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (18-21, 21-19, 15-21)

Sumeeth Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa

• Round of 32: Sumeeth Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa beat Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet (21-16, 21-17)
• Round of 16: Sumeeth Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Chang Ko Chi/Lee Chih Chen (15-21, 17-21)

Indian shuttlers who impressed the most

Indian badminton stars Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy created a new milestone by becoming the first doubles pair from the country to make it to the finals of the continental championships. They went on to create history becoming the first from the country to be crowned champions at the BWF Asian Championships since Dinesh Khanna in 1965.

India ended its 58-year wait for a gold medal at the continental tournament with this win. After dropping the first game, the Indian pair fought back fiercely to defeat their Malaysian opponents in an intense final, thereby achieving a remarkable feat.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag have established themselves as key players for the Indian team, showcasing their impressive skills and tactical savvy. Their ability to effectively defend the middle line and quickly transition from defence to offence is particularly impressive. With their aggressive playing style and strategic strike rotation, the pair have proven themselves to be among the event's top contenders.

Indian shuttler who disappointed the most

Lakshya Sen, the gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games, was knocked out by world number 7 Loh Kean Yew in a 7-21, 21-23 in the opening round. Having dropped o 24th place in the BWF rankings, Sen faced a challenging opponent in former world champion Loh swiftly iin the opening round.

The Singaporean dominated the court to secure the first game 21-7, but Sen fought back and was only two points behind at the break in the second game. The Indian had an opportunity to level the tie when he reached game point at 20-19, but Loh ultimately won the second game 23-21 and the match in 45 minutes.

After riding a real high in 2022, managing to break into the top 10 world rankings and even beating Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the German Open semi-finals last year, many experts predicted Sen to be the next WR 1 but 2023 has been nothing but a downward spiral for the star. But with age by his side, Lakshya has the game to come out of the current crisis and turn things around.