Daijiworld Media Network – Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 10: Indian Men's Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open 2025, a prestigious BWF World Tour Super 1000 event. The duo triumphed over Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in straight games, 26-24, 21-15, displaying both skill and composure.

The pair expressed their excitement about the great start to the year, saying, "We couldn’t have started on a better note. We want to go as deep in the tournament as possible," according to the Badminton Association of India (BAI).

In the upcoming semi-finals, Satwik and Chirag will face South Korea's top doubles duo, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, in a thrilling encounter.

The match saw the Indian pair in a tight battle. In the first game, they were ahead 19-16 before the Malaysians made a strong comeback, leveling at 19-19 and taking a 21-20 lead. However, Chirag and Satwik held their ground, saving four game points before sealing the victory.

The Malaysians put up a strong fight in the second game, leading by three points at the mid-game interval, but the Indian duo rallied back to level at 11-11 and eventually won 21-15. This win marked their sixth victory over Ong and Teo.

Earlier, Satwik and Chirag had defeated Malaysia's Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong in the round of 16 and secured a convincing victory over Chinese Taipei's Lu Ming-che and Tang Kai-wei in the round of 32.

The seventh-seeded Indians will now face the unseeded but strong South Korean pair of Kim Won-ho, the Paris 2024 mixed doubles silver medallist, and Seo Seung-jae, the reigning world champion in men's and mixed doubles.

In contrast, other Indian Olympians had a tough run, with Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy eliminated in the early rounds. PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, opted to skip the tournament. The Malaysia Open, part of the prestigious BWF Super 1000 series, will conclude on Sunday.