Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Script History, Bag India's 1st Men's Doubles Medal After 52 Years At Asian Championships

The Indian shutters beat their idols Ahsan and Setiawan in the quarterfinals to book a spot in the semi-finals where they will play Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin of Taiwan.

Source: Twitter

After assuring a men`s doubles medal at the Badminton Asia Championships after 52 years with win over Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, India`s top men`s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty said the Indonesia`s experienced duo are like idols and they have been following them since young age. The Indian duo of Rankireddy and Shetty won the quarterfinals 21-11 21-12 against Ahsan-Setiawan. In the semi-finals, Chirag and Satwiksairaj will play Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin of Taiwan.

"Playing against senior players like them, there is no strategy. They can come back at any time; they have that mindset. So from starting onwards, we didn`t take it as pressure and we tried to enjoy every point," said Satwiksairaj after the historic match. The shutter said that Ahsan and Setiawan are idols for both of them and they learned so much about badminton merely by watching the Indonesians play on the court. "They are like idols. We have been following them since a young age. When we took our racquets, they were already All England champions and world champions. So, we know how they play," the Indian men`s doubles pair," Satwiksairaj added.

HISTORY SCRIPTED ___

__ Sat-Chi assured medal for India after 52 years in MD category
__ Medal from Indian doubles department after 9 years

Well done boys, proud of you! __@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @lakhaniarun1 #BAC2023#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/dz5dG4n7Xe

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) April 28, 2023

"But going into the match, we had a strategy with our coach and focused on the service receiving - they are very strong at it. After the injury, the way we are playing it`s a good sign for us," he further said. Asked how proud he is with the achievement, Chirag Shetty said that the job is still not done.

"The job is still not done. We played some really good badminton today," said Chirag. Commonwealth Games 2022 men`s doubles champions Satwik and Chirag will now face Chinese Taipei`s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin in the last four encounters.