Malaysia Open men’s doubles Final HIGHLIGHTS: Liang-Wang clinch title with a comeback win vs Satwik-Chirag

AND THAT IS IT! THE CHINESE PAIR COMPLETE THEIR COMEBACK IN STYLE AS THEY WIN TWO CONSECUTIVE GAMES TO CLINCH THE MEN”S DOUBLES TITLE!

Final score: 9-21, 21-18, 21-17

The Indian pair pulls one back as Liang’s shot goes wide 

What a way to bring up match point, Liang plays the cross court drop to perfection

The Chinese pair is just two points away from the title now as Satwik is unable to counter quick smashes from the opposition

Wonderful rally comes to an end with two back to back smashes from Liang to ensure a point for the Chinese pair

Two point lead continues for the Chinese pair as Satwik squanders a shot 

Two consecutive points for the Chinese pair, with the latest one coming from an error off Satwik’s racket

Another shuttle finds the net. Wang with the error this time 

The Chinese pair takes the lead for the first time this game! 

Scores are level yet again as Satwik’s smash goes beyond the backline 

Satwik’s smash is enough to fetch India a point as Wang finds the net on the return

Chirag+’s attempted lob goes wide! Parity restored! 

Two quick smashes directed towards Satwik and the Indian fails to touch the second one as the deficit is reduced to just one point

SatChi pull one back as Wang finds the net

Game resumes. Chirag with the serve and that’s a point for the Chinese pair 

The Indian pair goes into the break with a four point lead. Liang tried to counter Chirag’s shot with a lob but finds the net

Satwik’s attempted smash crashes on to the net. Three point difference now

The Chinese pair reduces the deficit to five as Liang’s lob goes out of Chirag’s reach

Quick back and forth between the sides but the Indian pair comes out on top as Wang’s shot goes wide

Another attempted smash and another shuttle crashes on to the net as India gets a point

A five-point lead for the Indians! They’ve used their smashes to full potential! 

Make that three as Chirag forces Liang to find the net 

Two consecutive points for the Indians

Two quick counters from Chirag as Liang squanders a shot

Satwik’s smash ensures a point for India

Third game begins with the Indians getting the first point

And the Chinese pair restores parity with two back to back points. Takes the second game 21-18

Game point for China as Satwik’s makes a service error

An unsuccessful challenge from China as India reduces the deficit to just one

Wang anticipates Chirag’s drop and counters with a smash

Satwik-Chirag pulls one back as Wang’s attempted drop finds the net

Satwik’s lob goes over the line

The deficit is now cut to just two points as Chirag plays his drop to perfection

Liang squanders an easy chance as he finds the net as well 

Satwik-Chirag get a point as Liang finds the net

Satwik finds the net this time in one of the longer rallies of this game 

Three point lead again for the chinese pair as Chirag finds the net

Another shot finds the net but this time it’s Liang. Make that two consecutive points for the Indians as Chirag gets his smash right

Satwik’s lob goes over the backline

Wang finds the net and that’s a point for the Indians

The deficit is reduced to three now as Satwik’s shot misses both his opponents

Liang, after a first failed smash attempt, gets the second one right on the money as the Chinese pair collect a point

The Indians manage to secure two consecutive points after the break

Liang-Wang pair goes into the break with a 5-point lead. 

The Chinese pair managed to win a point only for Liang to make a service error

Sloppy from Wang. He tries a cross court smash but finds the net eventually

Point finally for the Indians. Satwik found an opening as Liang lifted one high and the Indian smashed it hard to collect a point 

Another couple of points for the top seeds. Chirag with the error this time as well as his lob is misdirected 

Three points on the trot for the Chinese. The last one came from a smash from Liang, which Chirag deflected away

Liang’s lob goes over the backline 

Mediocre serve from Liang as he finds the net to concede a point 

Second game begins. The Indians to serve first. Chirag hits one away as the Chinese pair takes the first point

The opening game belongs to the Indians and this has been nothing short of a domination! They take the first game 21-8! 

Superb return from Satwik that surprises Keng as the latter misses to put racket on the shuttle

One point each for both the sides but the Indians are right at the top with a 10 point cushion

Pure domination this from the Indians. They get another point as Satwik plays a tactical high lob 

After conceding yet another point, the Chinese pair finally manage to pull one back as Keng’s smash eludes Satwik

Two points on the trot for the Indians, the last of which was a cross court lob from Chirag

Chirag gets two back to back smashes towards him and squanders to counter the second one

Point for the Indians as they go into the break with a 7-point lead! 

Liang moves across the court and dishes out a smash to collect a much needed point

The umpire rules Chirag’s lob as wide but the Indians get a point after a successful review 

Chirag’s reflexes help the Indians fetch a point. He countered two smashes from the opposition 

Chirag capitalises on Liang’s high lob and plays an powerful smash to collect a point

Chirag’s serve falls just away from the center line as the Chinese pair pull one back

The Chinese pair pulled one back but a superb drop from Satwik forces Liang to find the net as the Indians continue to maintain a 4 point lead 

Three consecutive points for SatChi, last of which came from a powerful smash from Chirag

Keng tries to chip one over Satwik but overhits it as the shuttle goes beyond the backline. First points on the board for the Indians

The most awaited clash where Satwik-Chirag takes on top seeded Chinese pair of Liang-Keng is just under five minutes away

This will be Satwik and Chirag’s fifth meeting as a pair against the Chinese pair. In the four previous meetings, the pair from China, who beat Satwik-Chirag in last year’s Malaysia Open semifinal, hold a 3-1 advantage over the Indian duo. 

Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (JAP) bt Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Eun (KOR) 21-18, 21-15

An Se Young (KOR) bt Tai Tzu Ying (TW) 10-21, 21-10, 21-18

Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (CHN) bt Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu (CHN) 21-18, 21-18

Andres Antonsen (NOR) bt Shi Yu Qi (CHN) 21-14, 21-13

Round of 32 - Beat Indonesia’s Fikri/Maulana 21-18, 21-19

Round of 16 - Beat France’s Laber/Corvee 21-11, 21-18

Quarterfinal - Beat China’s He/Ren 21-11, 21-8

Semifinal - Beat South Korea’s Kang/Seo 21-18, 22-20

The Malaysia Open men’s doubles final between India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and China’s Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang will be streamed live on the JioCinema app/website. The match will also be telecast live on Sports 18.