Malaysia Open badminton 2025 Semifinal highlights: Satwik-Chirag go down 10-21, 15-21 against Seo-Kim

Shivani Naik's quick summary:

A large chunk of the Mathias Boe mantra relied on Chirag cutting across to settle matters quickly in first 3-4 shots, keep rallies short. Coach Tan Kim Her is clearly trying to mix things up here... Gonna take time to get this perfected looks like. 

Koreans complete 21-10, 21-15 win.

Kim and Seo continue their sensational week after returning as a pair for the first time since 2019. 

For Satwik and Chirag, not a bad week, after a long break away from action. There is bound to be rustiness. Perhaps an extra day to prepare for the India Open next week, where they'd be raring to go. 

KOREANS INTO THE FINAL

FIVE MATCH POINTS for the Koreans and they convert their second chance.

The Indians miss out on back-to-back finals at the year's first Super 1000

"Seo is having a really, really good day" 

Hard to argue with that observation from Steen Pedersen. 

Shivani Naik: 

The Satwik cutting across diagonally to front, a la Chirag, is still in experimental stage. It's a skill he sure could do with, but it's gonna cost India a few points. For Chirag, that sliding step and racquetwork to ping and tap even when imbalanced or in motion, goes smoothly. It's his natural speed. Satwik will take some time to get going there. 
Worth the effort.

A desperately needed point or the Indians, and some desperate defending from Chirag to win it. Great work to keep the shuttle in play with his back on the court and then Satwik kills it at the net. 

Six out of the seven points since the mod-game interval for the Koreans and they are into the lead. 

The Koreans starting to close the gap down. It is worth noting that both Seo and Kim are sensational mixed doubles players too so both can be strong from the backcourt. Kim with a powerful winner. And shortly after, the Koreans are back level. It's been all Korea since the interval. 

Superb flat pushes from Satwik from either side of the court, swapping with Chirag well, and the Indians have a 4-point lead at the interval. 

Oh what a leave by Satwik this time. Perfectly judges a short serve and lets it drop in front of the service line. Hawkeye shows it was a hair's breadth away. 

Shivani Naik: 

Since the Koreans have the whole court covered with their ever-reliable defense, and also in the third dimension, it only makes sense to go for body attacks, where a few points have trickled through. 
Indians trying the right stuff here

The Indians are clearly better at the shorter exchanges from the service situations but anytime Seo gets a chance to attack, the Koreans look unstoppable. A brilliant smash aimed at just past Chirag's left hip. And perhaps for the third time, Satwik lets the shuttle drop erroneously. 

As Steen Pedersen points out on air, Satwik-Chirag chose sides so maybe they feel this is the better end for their attacking game. Tight in the early exchanges. Indians need to figure out a way to win the longer rallies. Super point from Satwik for 3-3, first a lovely service return and then a big booming smash. 

Here's how the opening game went. 

Shivani Naik beautifully describes the master that is Seo Seung Jae

It matters of course who won Paris Olympics medals - SSj didn't. But Seo Seung-jae is easily the best doubles badminton player in the world. 8-13. He plays the leaping smash from the back. And from exactly a carbon-copy slow mo jump, he switches racquet head and plays a drop a few metres ahead. Ditto action, except wrist turn. But shuttle lands in front court with Indians braced for a deep smash. 
Best leftie in badminton, daresay

You really don't see this sort of a scoreline often against Satwik-Chirag. Seo has been here there and everywhere. 

Another patient rally, and this ends with Satwik's lift going long. And then more brilliance from Seo, couple of beautifully disguised forehands. The Indians do eventually get to double digits. But this game is all but gone 

Oh wow, that's an uncharacteristic error from a badminton official, the shuttle landed well out from the Indians but was called in. And the review is used to reverse the call. And wow, now CRAZY luck. The shuttle literally kisses the top of the net cord and falls over on the other side from a defensive block by Seo. This is a huge lead for the Koreans. 

Magical drop shot from the backcourt by Seo. The slo-mo replay does full justice. The Koreans are starting to run away with. 13-8. And now Seo with a brilliant hold and push at the the net.

Another patient rally this one. Not something you see often in men's doubles. The Indians are happy to lift the shuttle here as well to try and pin Kim to the backcourt. But patience is often a Korean virtue in badminton. Satwik makes an error of judgement again as he lets the shuttle drop well in on the backcourt. 

Shivani Naik

The beauty of Korean badminton is absence of any patterns. Seo jus buzzes about like bumblebee from pretty much anywhere, playing placement badminton. 
Chirag has picked onto their middle alley being rock solid covered, and is trying to mix crosses to flanks with straight hits. It's mentally exhausting though. Indians not allowed to dictate pace or pattern here

Possibly the longest rally of the match so far and the Indians have to do a lot of defending here. Seo, like we saw last year at the India Open final, is taking the pace off the shuttle every chance he gets. The rally eventually goes the Koreans' way. 

Coach Tan Kim Her has some thinking (and talking) to do. 

Couple of poor points from the Indians. First Satwik misjudges the length of a clear and lets the shuttle drop in on the backline. Then Chirag with a smash that goes into the net from the backcourt. 

India need more of that, the Plan A. Chirag to dominate at the net and Satwik to take care of the backcourt. Chirag does well on the frontfoot to close the gap down 1. 

Shivani Naik:

It's interesting Seo, a leftie gets into receiving defensive stance, standing to the right. While Kim, a rightie, stands to the left. Side by side. They know Satwik and Chirag like to hit steep smashes right down middle.

POINT OF THE MATCH! Quite possibly, we might have already seen the best rally of this semifinal. Sensational flat exchange, furious from all four players, Chirag with some great defensive work but Seo is just too good in the end. 

After a good start by the Indians, it is the Koreans who are looking the more dangerous pair in these opening exchanges. Seo, we all know, is sensational whenever he plays doubles. His speed and agility are elite.

And Chirag starts things off with a little bit of help from the net cord. 

The Korean shuttlers are quite popular everywhere they travel to, in general, so they get a good round of applause.

But so do they Indians. 

Shivani Naik:

If you wondered where Kang Min-hyuk, partner of Seo Seung Jae is off to after they won World Championships but couldn't medal at Paris Games, then do fret.

Min-hyuk is off to complete his compulsory military service, though he will continue playing badminton there too. 

There wasn't as much hysteria like when K-Pop stars march off for the mandatory service, but it did stir up a shuffle in Korea's MD bunch. So Kim Won Ho, who won silver in mixed doubles slots in with the versatile Seo Seung-jae

Warmup underway. 

A superb run for Kim and Seo on their reunion so far. Their biggest win was the one against defending champions and world No 2 Liang and Wang. 

And as we get ready for the coin toss, the legendary Lee Chong Wei is spotted at the Axiata Arena. 

As Gill Clark notes on air, Seo and Kim were a pairing six years or so back, and have resurrected their combination now. 

Satwik-Chirag have a lot of points to defend at the start of this year because they reached the final at Malaysia Open and India Open at the start of last season. And because they didn't play much at the backend of last year, the former World No 1s are currently down to 9th. In case they lose today, they will drop further points... but a win in Malaysia will be all that they care about now. 

A superb mixed doubles semifinal comes to an end and it is time for SatChi

The incredible Seo Seung Jae (double World Championship winner last year in both MD and XD) said about his partner: “My focus is to use our individual strengths to the partnership’s benefit. Kim is incredible in defence and quick at the front court. It’s hard to get the shuttle past him.”

Quarterfinal clash sees Rankireddy/Shetty ?? rival home pair Ong/Teo ??.#BWFWorldTour #MalaysiaOpen2025 pic.twitter.com/Pp35h3XAgr

— BWF (@bwfmedia) January 10, 2025

Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her, who first brought together India's celebrated pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, has returned to India taking charge of the doubles teams. Tan replaces Danish Mathias Boe who took the Indians to the pinnacle of world rankings. It is a highly anticipated reunion, given it was the Malaysian's brainwave to link up the two tall shuttlers, who ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016 played with different partners - Satwik with Krishna Prasad Garaga and Chirag with MR Arjun.

But Tan saw immediate potential in the two even while they were playing against each other in a 2014 junior international final. Tan had however taken up a better rewarding offer with Japan, post 2017, even as Satwik-Chirag were still picking international series titles - starting Mauritius in 2016 within months of pairing up. Their first tour title would come in 2018 at Hyderabad. Satwik reckoned they would pick off from where they left with the coach, with lot of warmth and affection. "Coach Tan was supposed to come before last Olympics but for some reason, it couldn't happen. 2022, I think. But he was very keen, he wanted to do something for India, for us. Everytime we go to a tournament he talks like he's still our coach. So he has that special bond for us,  maybe we are like new babies for him. He paired us. So we became world number 1 from there -- from nowhere, we became world number 1. So he has that special bond with us," he recalled adding they would always miss Boe. "Obviously we miss Boe. We are used to him," he said.

Indians did not run away from the challenge of playing the fast, flat game that's not to their liking. Eventually, their persistence on getting on with it saw the Malaysians get frustrated, as in trying to keep the shuttle as low and near the net as possible with their slappy pushes, they ended up with net errors. The takeaway was that 'playing to your strengths' (read: attack) doesn't quite work if opponents do their job of not allowing you to have it your way. (Shivani Naik) 

From Shivani Naik's report: Make no mistake, Koreans Seo Syeung-jae and Kim Won-ho will pose tougher questions on Saturday, and will not get carried away by the drama and delirium of a highly-charged contest. The Koreans only have a handful of matches together, but Seo has more variations than SEOs at media houses have suggestions. His head is a bag of tricks, which the limbs obediently execute. But the Malaysians, ranked 24, pushed the Indians enough to get them on their toes.

I have started to take this more seriously, too – to take care of my body; how to recover after a match, what are the precautions, how other players are doing, what is affecting me, and changing my body shape a little, maybe. I can be a little more agile.

This is going to be my main goal for 2025. I want to understand how my body works. In that sense, I think 2025 will be an experimental year for me – I am now thinking long-term; not even 2028, maybe, 2032! After this year, I want to be able to play without any injuries.

I have started with a new trainer; coach Tan (Kim Her) also joined us. I am working more on the mental part and collaborated with a nutritionist as well. So, a little bit more like a professional athlete. We were professional earlier too, but a little bit more professional athlete, if that makes sense.

Of course, the usual major tournaments are on our minds next year. But from now, I will enter them with no expectations. I simply want to go there and enjoy.

(Satwik spoke to Mihir Vasavda)

Chirag supported me and motivated me to play. He stood by my side like a rock and obviously Dinesh, from Go Sports, too. My backbone. These people ensured I was on the right track when so many thoughts were going on in my mind. There was the pain of the Olympics, the pain due to injuries…

Chirag and I hadn’t been through such a phase since we started playing as a pair. As I was going through rehab, he was back on the court practising full-on. He took the lead and began talking to all the physios on my behalf. He was very keen to understand why the injuries were recurring. He was talking with all the doctors, too.

Chirag talked to physios, sorted our tickets, planned tournaments… he managed everything. We normally do this, but he did it with extra care that time. I know it wasn’t easy for him, too. Yet, he was there doing all those things and taking care of me.

From Paris, I returned to Hyderabad for some time. Then, my parents called me to our hometown. I didn’t feel like going there, but I went. From there I went to Araku for some sightseeing. A few days later, I was back in Hyderabad. It wasn’t like that for Chirag. Two weeks after the Olympics, he was in Hyderabad, ready to go. But handling things wasn’t pretty good at that point.

I wanted time off but Chirag wanted to play tournaments. Then, coach (Mathias Boe) wasn’t there. Our trainer had left, too. Chirag and I sat down and talked; we were doing everything without the coach – planning tournaments, protecting our ranking… It was a little tough at that time. We were blank at one point as to what to do. Personally, it took me a while to start again from zero.

It was during this period I realised the value of doubles badminton. You are teammates not just on the court, but off it too.

Now, I usually play with a lot of pain. So, I thought, ‘It’s okay, this is normal’. Even in Paris, it was pretty cool. I had my main pillars there. My brother was there to support me. When he is around, I feel very comfortable. I have someone to talk to, someone who can deal with things, tell me how to manage when things are not going well… He had booked an apartment very close to the stadium so after matches, I used to go there, he’d cook a meal and we’d just sit down, have a good lunch, and a good laugh.

We felt good heading to the quarterfinals against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. We told each other there’s no need to panic. The first game went well, but then things started to turn around. In matches, such things do happen but looking back, I had only one month of good practice, was dealing with injuries and felt a little out. I was frustrated with myself that everything was happening at the wrong time.

Before the Olympics, I had taken a shot on my back. But not being 100 per cent fit physically must have affected my partner as well. He had to cover for me and that situation may have kept him under pressure.

As far as life-changing years ago, 2024 will be right up there for me.

This mixed doubles match is set to go to the decider. SatChi on the court after this

Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae are a new pairing on tour, they have only started playing on tour at this event. Kim is a mixed doubles specialist, having won the silver medal at Paris Olympics in that discipline with Jeong Na Eun.

“The pace in men’s doubles is much faster but I’m lucky to have Seung Jae supporting me. That’s why I’ve been able to play well despite feeling nervous,” said Kim after they defeated Liang/Wang earlier in the tournament. “Seo is a perfect all-rounder – his attacking game is strong and he can adapt to different opponents’ styles.”

"First game was really crucial, we were leading 19-16 then they came back and the crowd supported them," said Satwik.

"But we knew there will be huge crowd for Malaysia here. We were positive till the end and were taking one point at a time. Really happy the way we played in the crucial part. Hope the crowd support us tomorrow," he added.

“As athletes, these are the stadia you want to play at. You want to play at packed arenas in the closing crucial stages of the tournament. We couldn’t have asked for a better crowd although they would obviously support the local pair. But as a professional athlete, it is one of the best stadiums to play at.

The seventh-seeded Indians battled for 49 minutes to secure a 26-24, 21-15 win over the Malaysian duo of Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in the quarterfinals of the prestigious Super 1000 tournament. The opening game was a nail-biter, with both pairs keeping the contest evenly poised. Playing in front of a partisan crowd at the majestic Stadium Axiata Arena, the Indians held a narrow 11-9 lead at the interval and extended it to 18-16. But the Malaysians rallied, earning three consecutive points to level at 19-19 and even snatched a 20-19 lead. Undeterred, Satwik and Chirag displayed remarkable composure, saving four consecutive game points before closing the first game 26-24.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Malaysia Open Men's double semifinal live coverage. In the semifinals, India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face South Korea’s formidable duo, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae. Stay tuned for all the live action.