ANURAG THAKUR CONGRATULATES SATWIKSAIRAJ-CHIRAG ON WINNING THE FRENCH OPEN TITLE

The Indian men's doubles badminton team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received congratulations from Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur for winning the French Open 2022 title.

India's Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the men's doubles event at the French Open 2022 on Sunday, earning their first BWF Super 750 title.

“Congratulations to Indian Badminton men’s doubles duo @satwiksairaj and @Shettychirag04 for becoming the first ever Indian doubles pair to win a BWF World Tour Super 750 title by winning the 2022 French Open! Well done!,” tweeted Anurag.

The top seeds from Japan, Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, were eliminated by the Indian badminton pair in the quarterfinals. They then defeated Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei in the final 21-13, 21-19.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won despite the fact that their previous three victories on the BWF World Tour occurred against weaker opposition.

According to Olympics.com, their first event, the Hyderabad Open 2018, was a Super 100 competition, while the Thailand Open 2019 and the India Open 2022 were both Super 500 competitions.

Additionally, since Partho Ganguli and Vikram Singh won the French Open badminton championship in 1983, this was the first time an Indian men's doubles pair had done so.

The No. 8 men's doubles pair in the world, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the seventh-seeded team in the competition, jumped out to an early lead by winning the opening five points of the match. Due to their aggressive badminton approach, the Indian pair easily controlled the first game and won it.

The score was even at 14 all as Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han bravely battled their way back into the match.

After the comeback, the match's momentum changed clearly, as Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han fought bravely to take a 19-17 lead.

The in-form Indian team, who earlier this year in Birmingham won the Commonwealth Games championship, shown exceptional maturity by managing their nerves to win the game, match, and title.