Satwik-Chirag defeat World No. 1 pair to win Korea Open 2023, lift season's third title

This is also the Indian duo's first-ever title in the tournament.

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat World No. 1 pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (17-21, 21-13, 21-14) to claim their maiden Korea Open 2023 title. This is the Indian duo’s third BWF 500 tour title - Thailand Open in 2019 and India Open in 2022 and overall their tenth successive win and second successive title.

Unlike the previous encounters, the Indian pair started conservatively, winning only three out of the first eleven points. The WR-1 Indonesian pair continued to outperform and took a crucial seven points lead at the mid-game interval of the opening game. From 10-19, the Indian pair won six successive points (16-19) to gain back momentum. Satwik-Chirag, Asian champions, kept pushing hard to save a game point but it wasn't enough in the end as they lost the opening game 17-21.

The second game started on a positive note for the Indians, who held a two-point advantage in the early stages (8-6). The Indian pair conceded a second service error point at a crucial juncture but managed to take a three-point lead (11-8) at the break. The momentum gained in the second half of the first game helped the Indians push positively in the second. They eventually won the second game 21-13 to force a decider.

Once again, Satwik-Chirag got off to an excellent start with a four-point advantage at 7-4. Indonesia tried a few things to gain an advantage - one of which was the flick serve which did not reap rewards and in stead they went into the mid-game interval with a three points deficit in the decider.

In the end, the Indians did not have to sweat much as they won the decider comfortably after having seven championships points in their hand. Since the quarter-finals, Satwik-Chirag has conceded just five points through service errors and going forward they will need to work on their service game.