“More the pressure, the better they play” - Indian fans react as Rankireddy and Shetty script historic semifinal win at the Asian Games 2023

India’s leading doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy staged a fantastic win against Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles semifinal at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. This historic win assures the Indian duo of a silver medal at the prestigious games.

Shetty and Rankireddy's semifinal victory and their incredible performance at the Asian Games left fans ecstatic online. Fans took to social media after the victory to express their excitement after the Indian duo’s win.

Here's how fans reacted to Satwik and Chirag’s historic win:

A closer look at their semifinal match

The first half of the first set in the semifinal clash saw Rankireddy and Shetty go neck and neck in a very close battle with their Malaysian opponents before taking a decisive lead in the second half. Aaron and Soh started to claw back from 18-10 down, but the Indians quickly found their rhythm again and closed the set with a score of 21-17.

The first set saw all four players engage in a fabulous exchange of flat shots and incredibly powerful smashes, but the master-class defense by the Indian pair made the difference and helped them seal the set.

The second set saw the Indian duo continue their momentum from the first game and take an early lead, with Shetty dominating the net. Despite their best efforts, the Malaysians could not do much to penetrate the Indian defense and were down 11-3 going into the break.

The Indian pair continued their onslaught in a match that saw some really long and intense rallies and eventually wrapped up the game 21-12, securing their place in the gold medal match.

This victory by the Indian pair assures India of at least another silver medal in badminton at the 19th edition of the Asian Games.

With yet another outstanding performance by the doubles pair, the nation has a lot of expectations for them to do well in the final on October 7, where they take on the South Korean pair of Solgyu Choi and Kim Wonho in the gold medal match. The Indian fans hope the now-World No. 1 (when the rankings get updated on October 10) shuttlers will return with the gold.