Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reach final of Thailand Masters

India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, cruised into the Thailand Open 2024 final with a decisive straight-games victory over Chinese Taipei's Lu Ming-Che and Tang Kai-Wei on Saturday, May 18. The top-seeded Indian duo won the semi-final match 21-11, 21-12 in just 35 minutes on Court 1 at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.

Rankireddy and Shetty, who are bound for the upcoming Olympics, will compete for their second BWF World Tour title of the season. They are set to face China's Chen Boyang and Liu Yi in the final on Sunday, May 19. The Chinese pair, who secured victories at the Orleans Masters and China Masters in 2023, reached their first final of the year by defeating South Korea's Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang 21-19, 21-18.

Adding to the excitement, another Indian pair, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, will compete in the women's doubles semi-final later on Saturday. The duo, also Olympic qualifiers, will face top-seeded Thai players Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

In men's singles, Meiraba Luwang Maisnam's impressive run ended on Friday, May 17, with a straight-games loss to fourth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. Despite ousting compatriot HS Prannoy in the opening round, Meiraba fell 12-21, 5-21 in the quarterfinals. Other Indian singles players, including Akarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, Kiran George, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, Unnati Hooda, and Ashmita Chaliha, also exited the tournament in earlier rounds.