Satwik and Chirag win French Open doubles title

Paris: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their love affair with Paris, lifting the French Open badminton crown for the second time with a dominating straight game win over Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the men’s doubles final here on Sunday.

The world No. 1 Indian pair had finished runners-up in the French Open in 2019 before winning the title in 2022.

On Sunday, the Asian Games champions outwitted Lee and Yang 21-11, 21-17 in 37 minutes to regain the Super 750 tournament title and also win their first crown of the season after reaching the summit clash for the third time in 2023.

The Indian duo had finished second best at Malaysia Super 1000, India Super 750 this year, while signing off as runners-up at China Masters Super 750 as well last year.

Satwik and Chirag proved third time lucky and their stellar show this week only reconfirmed chief coach Pullela Gopichand’s assertion that the duo will be the favourites to win Paris Olympics gold.