Satwiksairaj, Chirag claim Swiss Open doubles title
Hindustan TimesMathias Boe is usually very calm and is often seen instructing animated wards Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to keep their cool and maintain ‘discipline’ in the heat of the battle on the badminton court. On Sunday, the leap of joy was for his wards Shetty and Rankireddy, who claimed the Swiss Open doubles crown in Basel, becoming the first Indian pair to do so. The second seeds defeated the unseeded Chinese pair Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang 21-19, 24-22 in 54 minutes to claim their first title since winning the French Open in Paris last October. The Chinese tried clawing back by winning four straight points, producing some scintillating badminton, but the Indians made sure they never lost the lead and closed out the first game in 22 minutes. As the shuttle hit the net for the winning point, Boe leapt out of his seat, Shetty took off his shirt in celebration while Rankireddy broke into what has now become a traditional victory dance on the court for the fifth BWF World Tour title – the first of the year – in seven finals.