Of friends, idols and titles: Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag make it a memorable India Open for India

The night before the men’s doubles final at India Open, speaking about their plan to take on the top seeds, Chirag Shetty and Satwikisairaj Rankireddy expected a fun match, spoke about handling the pressure and being cautious.

A sign of a good relationship is when you are able to complete each other’s sentences, they say. “We know they may not be the fastest on the court at this point in their careers… but they are,” Chirag started and Satwik chimed in, “…they are the smartest.”

They were, of course, speaking about their idols. Hendra Setiawan, 37, and Mohammad Ahsan, 34, have seen it all. On court, they still see it all. The bodies might be past the peaks, but for the pair that the badminton community affectionately calls Daddies, the minds are still sharp. Chirag knew that, Satwik knew that. And, playing the kind of game that is not what we are used to seeing from them, the Indian pair defeated the former three-time world champions from Indonesia to clinch the India Open Super 500 title.

And if Satwik-Chirag had to tackle their idols in the final, a little while later Lakshya Sen had to take on a good friend, who just happens to be the…

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