In a match that had more twists and turns than a Dan Brown novel, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came up short against Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan 21-23, 21-18, 16-21 in 68 minutes at the Denmark Open Super 750 in Odense on Saturday. The defeat at the hands of the former world champions meant the Indians’ wait for a title on the BWF World Tour continued. For Hoki and the brilliant leftie Kobayashi, it signalled a return to a title clash after a year as the former world No 1s – who were also coached by Tan Kim Her like the Indians are currently – build their level back up.
The Indians started the match on the front foot, opening a 3-1 lead when Chirag hit the shuttle bang on Kobayashi’s forehead – couldn’t have placed a body smash any better – and put up a hand in apology. But the Japanese started controlling the service situations quickly and went on a run of five straight points to open up a 6-4 lead. Kobayashi’s leftie angles were troubling the Indians, as he first hit a stunningly deceptive backhand service return and then a body smash at Satwik for an 8-6 lead. Hoki took charge at the net to force an air-shot from Chirag and the Japanese duo went into the interval with an 11-6 lead.
Hoki’s radar started misfiring post the break as he missed a sitter at the net and then netted the return shortly after, with SatChi closing the gap down to 10-12. A superb short serve from Chirag was sent well wide by Hoki as the Indians closed the gap down to one point. Satwik and Chirag seemed to realise that Hoki was struggling for control at this time and started targeting him with their attacks, which is how they drew level at 14-14. A service fault from Chirag at 15-16 would prove costly as the Japanese took back control to lead 19-17, with Kobayashi going on all-out attack to end the longest rally of the match at this point, at 24 shots.
But a brilliant flat push from Satwik at the net to the Japanese duo’s deep forehand corner got the serve back to the Indian side, and they put together a mini run to have a game point at 20-19. Satwik’s error at the net made it 20-20, then Chirag hit a stunning smash service return winner for 21-20. Kobayashi saved the second game point with a crisp crosscourt winner from the backcourt that would have made his Japanese teammate, Yuta Watanabe proud. Hoki, who hadn’t been having the best of evenings, hit a fine serve that was netted by Chirag and the Japanese pair took the opening game. At the change of ends, Hoki asked for permission from the tournament referee and used his phone camera as a mirror to change his contact lenses.
Game 2 started with a fabulous rally involving all four players, with Chirag somehow scrambling to the backcourt and digging out the shuttle from inches off the floor, but the Indians lost the point on a tame error. They did, however, open up an 8-5 lead and looked in much better rhythm. There hadn’t been too many parallel-play attacking chances for Satwik-Chirag in the match till then but when they managed to do that, it put the Japanese defence under pressure as the Indians opened up a 10-6 lead and went into the interval at 11-7. A delicious spinning shot at the net by Satwik gave the Indians a 15-10 lead. When a decider seemed imminent, Hoki-Kobayashi reeled off 4 points in a row to close the gap to one. And almost at the same point as in the opening game, Kobayashi hit a service fault at 15-16. A signature Satwik smash put them 19-17 ahead and this time, when game points opportunities arrived, the Indians converted at the first time of asking after a Chirag body attack from the backcourt.
The decider was off to a tight start as well, with both pairs trading blows till 5-5, but the Japanese started to edge ahead. Another short serve from Chirag went wrong for a 8-6 lead. But he stepped up his game in the next few rallies, almost single-handedly engineering a four-point run that gave the Indians an 11-10 lead at the change of ends. But it wasn’t the change of momentum that they would have hoped for as Hoki-Kobayashi responded with a 3-point run to retake the lead. It escalated all too quickly as Hoki’s body smash at Chirag saw the Japanese go into a 16-12 lead that appeared decisive.
Kobayashi’s service error threw a lifeline to the Indians, but they immediately gave the serve back with another shuttle that was driven well beyond the backline, a sign that SatChi lost their radar in this mini slump that saw them trail 14-19.
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“I think it started off quite well, but didn’t really get the rhythm. But eventually got close and were couldn’t convert game points in the first. The second game was good, and then the third was dicey. But at 11-10, probably at 11 all things turned around for us. Like we lost 3-4 points and then it was sort of catch up from then on,” Chirag told BWF. Satwik added the Indian struggled to control the shuttle. “From the start, they controlled the shuttle pretty much better than us, in the lifts and all. Obviously, we couldn’t get the length because today’s shuttle was very fast. It was very difficult from both the ends actually. But they managed well pretty much. I think kudos to them. They played some quality shots at 11-10. And both of them served really well, and they dominated the net, I feel.”
Next up for the Indians is a return to their favourite country. France has always been SatChi’s favourite destination, and they’d go there with fond memories of winning bronze at the World Championships this year. Their best chance perhaps to end the wait for a title this year.
