At 15-15 in the opening set, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy jumped into the air and hit a yorker-smash, right on the toes of Ong Yew Sin to go up 16-15. Jasprit Bumrah or Zaheer Khan would be proud. Chirag Shetty was happy.
It sounded so good in the old days. If they were not stopped, their destructive fury brought them such a number of points that they terrified the opponents. Except, the top Malaysian doubles pair, pulled off a killer counter: they didn’t give the Indians any lifts and kept things low, fast, furious and uncomfortable.
It had brought Aaron-Soh an Olympic medal at the expense of an Indian. Six months on, Ong-Teo was just as happy, without the composure or perfection of Aaron Chia, but still a pain in the necks of the Indians.
The quarterfinal sees Rankireddy/Shetty 🇮🇳 against home duo Ong/Teo 🇲🇾.#BWFWorldTour #MalaysiaOpen2025 pic.twitter.com/Pp35h3XAgr
– BWF (@bwfmedia) January 10, 2025
With the fearsome emotions, the big hostile Malaysian crowd and the worst opponents, where the style of play was dictated by Ong-Teo, the Indians came out victorious 26-24, 21-15 to reach the semifinals.
Make no mistake, Koreans Seo Syeung-jae and Kim Won-ho will be asking tough questions on Saturday, and they won’t be swayed by the drama and chaos of the top-billed competition. Koreans have only 52 game together, behind. His head is a bag of tricks, his limbs obedient. But the Malaysians, ranked 24th, pushed the Indians enough to keep them on their toes.
A stagnant swamp
It was very bad. They were pushed to their heels as both Satwik and Chirag, 184 and 186 cm, were forced to hunt down and defend and dish out flat, quick drives. All in all it was a bad day to be a tall man. They were again called for high serves, and their cries for the referee’s chair roused the local crowd more than usual.
But the Indians didn’t shy away from the challenge of playing a fast, flat game that they don’t like. In time, their persistence also saw Malaysia frustrated, as they tried to keep the shuttle down and close to the net with ssppy pushing, and ended up with mistakes. The takeaway was that ‘playing to your strengths’ (read: attacking) doesn’t work well when opponents do their job of not letting you get your way.
But the first set was a rollercoaster even without the minutiae of popular styles. Starting from that good point of 16-15, where Satwik-Chirag kept things together, in control and charged directly. But the Malaysians walk sideways and keep up with the flat crosses, keeping the Indians frustrated and scared.
From 19-16 up, Satwik picked a service error and got upset. The Malaysians were on their toes when Teo sent a slick serve over their heads. Chirag asked if there was a collective delay, and was greeted by a crowd. They got a point with a furious crash from Chirag, but the next two points were the return of a sharp net thrown from the meshing and a reflex long fly. 20-21.
Chirag was a complete nervous chicken in the next area, but apparently his defense of a soft-legged crab, the wildest return he could have ever made, turned completely into the net. 21 – everything.
The crowds were even louder now, as the Axiata Arena rocked. Next, Satwik failed to push the net, but Teo also made a mistake, in several exchanges. The Indians saved 4 points, entering the net cauldron, although they found a perfect way to score 1-2 at 23-all.
An important point
Ironically, as commentators were discussing India’s vulnerability against a variety of services, especially falls, Chirag produced a crucial drive to take the lead and the second point after 20-19, 25-24. Satwik spent a long time shooting the bird when he managed to kill the bird, then he went up and smashed the second chance.
That 26-24 will probably be forgotten as the chaos of 2025 takes over. But it was a crucial lead—forced to play a critical style, the Indians held on. And he won.
Often the second set against this dynamic Malaysian pair was one-sided. The home team led 9-6, as the Indians piled up all kinds of errors and fouls. But from 8-10 to 11-11, the Indians began to attack the body or from hand-to-hand range.
A lot of drama unfolded. The Indians were annoying the crowd who were questioning the mistakes of the service, coach Tan Kim Her, who is of Malaysian origin himself, almost went out talking to the Indians, and was scolded. Then Ong deflected Teo’s body attack to the side, and the shuttle crashed into his chest, as he made the face of a hanged man. The two were always arguing, but they ended up being so fascinated by the crowd that they were cheering that they passed by the flat, kissing each other.
All the Indians had to do was rush Ong-Teo, and their mistakes piled up as they broke away. The Indians won 26-24, 21-15 and all this happened in 48 busy minutes where Satwik said they stayed positive until the end, taking one point at a time.
Chirag gave a professional, serious take. “As athletes, these are the fields you want to play in. He wants to play in packed stadiums at the end of the important stages of the tournament. We couldn’t have asked for a better crowd although it was clear they were going to support these locals. But as a professional athlete, it is one of the best arenas to play in,” he said.
Satwik kept it simple. “They’ll support us tomorrow,” he said calmly, reading the boom.
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