India’s hopes of a double triumph at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 went unfulfilled as Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty settled for runners-up on Sunday.
Lakshya, seeking his first final win since the Syed Modi Super 300 last November, was outclassed by world No. 4 Li Shi Feng, losing 15-21, 12-21 in the men’s singles final. “You would want to go and win that title but I think, credit to them, they played well. There's always a next time and overall happy with the performance,” he said.
The men’s doubles pair, coming off a second successive World Championships bronze, squandered a one-game advantage to fall 21-19, 14-21, 17-21 to China’s Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in a tense 61-minute summit clash. Chirag reflected on the week’s campaign, saying, "Yeah, obviously feels good. Been a good week, especially after the world championships a week later and here we are playing a final. Feels good."
Lakshya’s clash with Li, their 14th meeting dating back to junior days, saw the Indian hold a slender 7-6 edge in head-to-heads, but Li dominated the current season, having won at both the All England and China Open. The first game began with Lakshya surging to a 4-0 lead before Li’s sharp body attacks and net play turned the tide. Li eventually closed the opener 21-15 and carried his momentum into the second game to seal the win.
Also read: Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag enter Hong Kong Open finals
For Satwik and Chirag, the final marked their first appearance in 16 months since lifting the Thailand Open trophy and ended their perfect record in Super 500 finals, having won all four they had previously contested. Despite an exhilarating opener, errors in the second and third sets proved costly. Chirag said, "I think the shuttles were a bit fast. They were quite good at the 3-4 strokes. Put us under a lot of pressure in the first 4-5 strokes because they were retrieving quite hard. So I think we could have better planned in the second set, especially the third set as well."
The Indians had a 3-6 head-to-head record against Liang and Wang prior to the match, having beaten them at the World Championships in Paris. The decider saw the Chinese storm to an early lead, extending it to 11-2 at the interval. Despite a late Indian fightback that saved three match points, Satwik and Chirag faltered on a wide return, allowing Liang and Wang to claim the title.
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