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India won their first-ever Asian Games badminton gold in all events, on October 7, when the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the Men’s Doubles crown. The World No. 3 duo beat the Korean duo of Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in straight sets 21-18,21-16 to take home the title and become the first Indian shuttlers to ever win gold at the Asian Games.
This victory will propel the duo to the World No.1 ranking when the official rankings are updated next week. The pair won India’s 101st medal in these games and 26th gold to make it a historic game for India.
Watch the winning moment:
The Indian pair of Shetty and Rankireddy made easy work of their opponents. They were challenged in the first set, where they trailed the Koreans 9-11 at the halfway mark. Despite this, they put up a remarkable show on display to win the first set 21-18. In the second set, the proceedings were much in favor of the Indians.
At the halfway point of the second set, they led 11-7. The Koreans were far from done and showed resilience to make the score 11-10. Despite this resurgence by Solgyu and Wonho, the new World No.1 duo maintained their composure and sailed to an 18-14 lead. Eventually, they closed the set 21-16 and won in straight sets to win a historic gold for India.
Shetty/Rankireddy wins historic gold
This medal will always be one of the most notable medals for Indian badminton. No Indian has ever won a gold in badminton at the Asian Games. This includes all singles, doubles, and team events. The gold medal brings an end to a memorable Asian Games for the Indian Badminton contingent. First, the men’s team won a medal for the first time since 1986, which was a silver. Later HS Prannoy showed excellent resilience to win bronze in the men’s singles. Then followed the crown jewel moment of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy winning gold in Men’s Doubles.
