Indonesia Open 2023: Satwik-Chirag advance to maiden finals, Prannoy out

This is also the doubles pair's first-ever final appearance in a BWF World Tour 1000 tournament.

Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first doubles pair from country to qualify for the finals of BWF World Tour Super 1000 finals on Saturday after reaching the final of Indonesia Open 2023. Elsewhere, HS Prannoy crashed out of the tournament after a straight games defeat to World No.1 Viktor Axelsen in just 46 minutes.

World No. 6 pair, Satwik-Chirag came back from a game down to defeat their South Korean opponents Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 to make their maiden World Tour 1000 tournament final. This is also their first-ever final at the Indonesian Open.

They will now face arch-nemesis Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the summit clash. The defending World Champions hold a 8-0 head-to-head record against the Indian pair.

In the semi-final clash against the WR-12 pair, Satwik-Chirag didn't look at their attacking best from the beginning as the South Koreans did all they could to not let the World No.6 pair settle down. Consequently, Satwik-Chirag lost the first set 17-21. However, the Asian Champions started the second game with a far more aggressive approach, taking a big lead very early. 

They looked well set to make it one game apiece until they started throwing points away in the dying moments of game 2. Their lead was reduced from 20-16 to 20-19 as the Koreans saved three game points before Satwik-Chirag finally levelled the tie through a winner.

The third and the decider game was an even-stevens affair until the scoreboard read 5-5. The Indians then went on a winning spree, making the score 12-5 in their favour. The two teams then started trading points before a heavy shot from the Koreans went out, giving Satwik-Chirag their first-ever final appearance in a BWF World Tour Super 1000 event.

HS Prannoy loses to Axelsen in straight sets

World No. 1 men's singles player Viktor Axelsen of Denmark beat India's top-ranked HS Prannoy in the other semi-final involving an Indian in the Indonesian Open. The Danish superstar didn't give Prannoy any breathing space, as he kept attacking the Indian with his smashes, to win the match in straight games. The scoreline read 21-15, 21-15 in the Danish player's favour after just 46 minutes.

Throughout the match, Prannoy couldn't enjoy a lead over Axelsen, except only during the early phases of the first game, and that too, only once when he led Viktor Axelsen 4-3. After that, as is the case in most of the matches involving Viktor Axelsen, the Danish ran away with a comfortable win over his opponent without losing too much sweat.