Satwik/Chirag become first-ever Indian men's doubles pair to secure medal at BWF World C'ships

Indian pair Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy created history on Friday as they became the first-ever Indian men's pair to reach the semi-finals at BWF World Championships. Satwik and Chirag knocked out the current world champion and world number 2 pair of Hoki and Kobayashi of Japan 24-22, 15-21, and 21-14 in the quarter-finals.

With the bronze medal secured, they become the first-ever men's pair to win a medal at World Championships and the second-ever pair after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini to win a medal in the doubles event.

The world number 7 pair will take on the Olympic bronze medallist pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Yik Wooi from Malaysia.

This is the first medal for India in this edition of the World Championship and 13th overall.

The pair of Satwik and Chirag is on a dream run in the year 2022. Satwik/Chirag started the year with a gold medal at India Open defeating the world number 2 pair of Ahsan/Setiawan and then went on to win the historic Thomas Cup. The pair followed it with a Commonwealth gold and now they secured a medal at World Championships.

Ecstatic after winning a maiden World Championships medal, India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on Friday said the season has been a "dream" for him and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty and the two would look to finish the tournament on a "big" note here.

"It is a big win for us. We haven't played them in a long time. They are the current world champions and we badly wanted to play against them but we are always up against the top seeds Kevin (Sukamuljo) and (Marcus) Gideon in tournaments," Satwik said in the BWF mixed zone.

Talking about their next game, Satwik said "We're so happy and excited. We want to finish this on a big note. It's a revenge match for us tomorrow; we've never beaten them (Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik). We just want to go there and enjoy the pressure. It's going to be a big match."