India Open Super 750: Satwik-Chirag pull out ‘mind tricks’ to avenge Worlds defeat and enter semifinals

Men’s doubles, in general, is fast and furious but the Danish duo of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen have a knack to rush their opponents even more. When they are in the zone, they barely give breathing room between points and dictate the tempo. It’s something Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty know all too well. The Indian star duo have struggled in the past against them, most recently suffering a heartbreaking loss at the 2023 World Championships, a defeat that Satwik says gave him sleepless nights.

But during the India Open Super 750 quarterfinal in Delhi on Friday, Satwik-Chirag produced a win that appeared dominant. The attacking brilliance reflected in the 21-7, 21-10 scoreline but the mental resolve is hidden between the lines.

For instance, the Danes recovered decently after the first-game drubbing to close the gap to 5-6 in Game 2. As Astrup got ready to serve, the Indians paused. Soon after, the Danish left-hander took a step back. The Indians made them wait a little longer. And after winning that exchange, Satwik-Chirag went on another dominant run of 8 straight points to effectively nullify the challenge of the World Championships silver medallists.

Satwik-Chirag🇮🇳 storm into the semifinal of #YonexSunriseIndiaOpen2024 with roaring crowd support 😎💥💪#IndiaKaSmashMania#BWFWorldTourSuper750#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/qEuS4HXlbl

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 19, 2024

Chirag explained after the match, “They usually just come and serve (very quickly), even before you are ready sometimes. A lot of pairs fall to that, we have so many times as well. We usually don’t play such mind tricks, so we decided we need to be ready and only then receive. Not play at their pace.”

In the meetings between these two pairs in the past, it was never just a game of skills. It’s a mental battle. “Whoever wins that, comes out on top. Today we did that quite well. We didn’t get into their rhythm. We served quite well,” Chirag added.

#IndiaOpen2024 #IndiaOpenSuper750

Dominance in Delhi. Satwik-Chirag cruise past Astrup-Rasmussen in straight games to reach semis. Big celebration there at the end pic.twitter.com/JfE4nyrnHH

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) January 19, 2024

The win was also a moment to savour for former Danish doubles star Mathias Boe. Satwik-Chirag’s coach had seen them lose twice against Astrup-Rasmussen in the past. “From the time he’s been with us, we have kept losing to them. It was a challenge for me as well to prove that he is here to help us win. He was hungry before the match, he was pumping us up,” Satwik quipped.

The second seeds have another tricky challenge coming up against former world champs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who had been a thorn in their flesh until recently. If they play anywhere close to the level they did on Friday, it promises to be a cracker.

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