By Nityanjali Bulsu
Following a wonderful match at BWF World Championships- Badminton, Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the Malaysian player duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, earning a confirmed medal at the grand Championships. The pair have successfully secured a second position in the world championships, taking the tally of medals won by India up by one.
This win has been thought of by many as the avenging of the crushing defeat India faced in the Paris Olympics against the two Malaysian players, butting heads once again in the grandest non-olympic game. The medal, ensured by the wonderful play by the Indian player duo, would be the continuation of India winning a medal in each of the Championship games every year. The duo, however, managed to achieve their goal of achieving and going further than the bronze medal that they received in the 2022 games.
The championship began with a match between India’s Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila against the previously 4th Ranked player duo, the Malaysian players Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in straight games. The Malaysian duo emerged victorious with a score of 15-21, 13-21 in a total of 37 minutes. This loss cost the Indian players their run for the gold medal in mixed doubles.
This match was followed by PV Sindhu’s match against the Indonesia player Putri Wardani, who has been ranked 9 at world ranking levels. Sindhu’s start was unfortunate as Wardani played several deceptive shots that Sindhu could not keep up with, ending with a 7 point loss against the Indonesian player. Sindhu made a wondrous comeback in the second match with scores of 21-13, however, it fell short as Wardan managed to score a 5-1 lead in the final match, defeating Sindhu at the Quarter Finals. The game was then followed by the match between the Indian duo Satwik-Chirag,and Malaysian pair Chia-Soh. The Indian pair managed to defeat the strong Malaysian pair with the score of 21-12, 21-19 win in 43 minutes.
The matches have attracted lots of audience enthusiasm, and despite the defeats, India awaits its run for the medals in The World Championship Finals.