Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s first final of the year ended in heartbreak as they were stunned by Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in the men’s doubles final at the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Sunday, May 17. The top-seeded Indian duo went down fighting in straight games (12-21, 23-25) in 53 minutes against Carnando and Marthin, who savored their first win against the Indians in five meetings.
After the final, both Satwik and Chirag admitted that they were still working their way back to their peak confidence levels and expressed hope of building on their runners-up finish.
‘We’re getting back that touch’
“I think we are getting back that touch. We should believe more and be confident on court rather than playing 50-50. I feel like from the start onwards, we are 50 when we enter the court. But before, one year back, we were always 90% confident,” Satwik told BWF after the match.
“But we are getting back that confidence. So happy with how we played this weekend. It’s more about mental rather than physical, I think. But things have started working for us. I think maybe sooner or later, very soon, we will be on the winning side rather than second, but happy,” he added.
Chirag echoed Satwik’s sentiments: “Slowly we are getting back the confidence, I feel. Especially after Thomas Cup, we felt a lot more confident in our game. Although we lost today, I think we could have won.”
For Carnando and Marthin, this was a remarkable moment since they reunited for this tournament after two years following the latter’s injury, which required surgery.
The defeat meant Satwik-Chirag’s wait for a BWF World Tour title extended beyond two years. It was also their first defeat in a Thailand Open final. After winning the Super 500 title in 2019 and 2024, Satwik and Chirag failed to make it three titles in three finals as their third attempt was thwarted by Carnando and Marthin.
After losing the opening game, World No. 4 Satwik and Chirag tried to bounce back in the second game, but Carnando and Marthin gave them a strong fight, forcing the Indians to trail. The Indians saved four match points before the Indonesians sealed the contest to claim their first-ever Thailand Open title.
Last year, Satwik-Chirag played the China Masters and the Hong Kong Open, and on both occasions, they finished runners-up.
Trailing in the fight
In the opening game, Satwik-Chirag trailed 1-4 before reducing the gap to 7-9. Carnando and Marthin, however, raced away to take complete control. They extended their lead to 13-8. Though the Indians managed to narrow the gap with the Indonesians committing unforced errors, Carnando and Marthin retained their five-point lead at 17–12.
With Satwik and Chirag struggling in the service exchanges and committing unforced errors, Carnando and Marthin earned eight game points before sealing the game 21-12.
The match witnessed a topsy-turvy second game where both pairings engaged in high-intensity smashes and sharp net exchanges. The Indonesians, however, managed to dominate the net, with Marthin once rattling Satwik with his serve, while Chirag looked off colour, struggling to connect the shuttle cleanly.
The Indians started with a 3-5 deficit as Marthin pounded them with his mighty smashes. Satwik and Chirag, however, managed to claw their way back to draw level at 5-5 before taking a 7-5 lead. But the advantage did not last long as the Indonesians drew level at 9-9.
Even as the Indians managed to stay ahead, their lead was canceled out by clever flick serves at the net by Carnando and booming smashes from midcourt by Marthin. From 11-11 to 14-14, the game continued in an even manner.
After the change of sides, Marthin continued to dismantle the Indian defense with his brutal smashes as the Indonesians led 5-3.
A flick serve by Chirag helped the Indians claw back at 5-5 and go on a run of a couple of points as they took a 7-5 lead for the first time in the match, with a scything return at the net from Chirag.
The Indonesians drew level at 9-9 before a smash from Chirag and a wide return from their opponents handed the Indians a two-point lead at the interval.
On resumption, it became a contest of who blinked first as a flick serve from Chirag was punished with a thunderous smash. The Indonesians again made it 11-11 before moving ahead after Satwik found the net following a rapid-fire cross-court exchange. At 19-19, the Indonesians earned their first match point.
Satwik-Chirag managed to save that, but they never looked fully in control of the game. They went on to save four match points before Marthin sealed the contest with a decisive kill.
Adjustment issue
Chirag and Satwik admitted that they struggled in negating the challenge posed by Carnando and Marthin.
“I think we didn’t start off that well. Shuttles were quite fast and we were trying to keep it low as much as possible. But we were always on the back foot. In the second game we were playing the shuttle a lot higher and mixing it up with some flicks as well. But in the end, it wasn’t enough,” said Chirag.
Recalling their missed chance in the second game, Satwik said, “We played on the faster side. It was a little difficult for us to control. They took us into their game style and it was tough. It took time for us to adjust. The way we played the second game, had we been a little bit sharper in those few points, maybe we could have won the third game.”
The Indians have now ruled themselves out of the Malaysia Masters and set to play the Singapore Open, Indonesia Open and the Australia Open.
