Satwik-Chirag end two-year title drought with maiden Singapore Open crown
(Courtesy : Badminton Photo)
They are also only the fourth Indians to lift the title at the BWF Super 750 event
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the Singapore Open BWF World Tour Super 750 title with a come from behind win over Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri in the men’s doubles final on Sunday.
The fourth seeded Indian combination dominated the summit clash after losing the opening game against the third seeded Indonesian pair to win 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in an hour and 13 minutes to being the first Indian doubles combination to clinch the Singapore Open.
The Singapore Open triumph will be the third Super 750 crown for the Indian combination, having won the French Open in 2022 and 2024. They had also won the Indonesia Super 1000 title in 2023.
Satwik-Chirag, who last won a title on the BWF World Tour at the Thailand Open 2024, have been in good form since playing an important role in India’s bronze medal winning performance in the Thomas and Uber Cup in May.
They then reached the finals of the Thailand Open earlier this month and followed it up with a title winning show this week.
Having ended world champions Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae’s 34-match unbeaten run in the semi-finals, Satwik-Chirag started the final by opening up a 5-2 lead but their Indonesian opponents then kept pace with them to pocket the game.
The Indians then relied on their attacking instinct to win six straight points from 8-8 to take control of the second game. Though Alfian and Fikri managed to save two game points, they could not avoid the decider.
With the momentum firmly in their favour, the Indians opened up a 11-5 lead. The Indonesians did close the gap at 11-12 but the eventual champions once again found that additional gear to earn five match points, converting the second to kick off their trademark celebrations.
“I am bit numb today as we have won a title after a gap of two years. Before coming here, we were a bit nervous because we had not done very well here in the past. But this week was special,” said Satwik after the title triumph.
Who did Satwik-Chirag defeat to win the men’s doubles title at Singapore Open 2026?
The Indian duo defeated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri in three games 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 to win the men’s doubles title.
Which other Indians have won the Singapore Open title?
Apart from Satwik-Chirag, Saina Nehwal (2010), B Sai Praneeth (2017) and PV Sindhu (2022) have lifted the title. Satwik and Chirag are the first Indian doubles pair to win a title at this event.
How many titles has Satwik-Chirag won in the BWF World Tour?
This was the Indian pair’s 10th title on the tour and third Super 750 crown.
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Alex graduated in mass communication in 2016 and has been covering global sports for Khel Now since then. He is covering sports tech, igaming, sports betting and casino domain from 2017.