Commonwealth Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will aim for their third title of the year when they lock horns with Lu Ching Yao & Yang Po Han of Taipei in the French Open final in Paris on Sunday.
Shetty and Rankireddy, currently placed at No. 8 in the world rankings, began the season on a thunderous note by winning the Super 500 India Open title at home. Having finished as silver medalists in the 2018 edition, the Indian men's doubles pair went one better this time at the Commonwealth Games to clinch the gold in Birmingham.
The former Thailand Open champions also created history by becoming the first Indian men's doubles duo to win a medal at the BWF World Championships when they collected a bronze medal in Tokyo in August.
They will be keen to continue the momentum and lift the trophy for the first time at the Super 750 level.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs Lu Ching Yao & Yang Po Han: Head-to-head & prediction
This will be the first meeting between the two pairs, so their head-to-head currently stands at a 0-0 deadlock.
Lu and Yang are now placed in 25th position, 17 places below the Indians. They haven't had many notable results this season, with just three quarterfinal appearances on the BWF Tour being their best performances prior to arriving in Paris.
But they have been highly impressive at the French Open, notching four wins on their way to the final, with second seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo being among their victims.
However, getting past the Indians might be an uphill task for the Taipei pair. Shetty and Rankireddy went to the French Open final in 2019, where they lost to Gideon and Sukamuljo. This time they will go all out to claim the title they missed out on three years ago.
Rankireddy and Shetty will also be buoyed by their big 23-21, 21-18 win over top seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the quarterfinals and will look to draw confidence from that sterling performance.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs Lu Ching Yao & Yang Po Han: Date and time
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will take on Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in the men's doubles final at the French Open 2022 on Sunday.
Date: October 30, 2022. Time: Approx. 5.30 pm local time, 10:00 pm IST.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs Lu Ching Yao & Yang Po Han: Where to watch & live streaming details
The French Open 2022 is being broadcast live in India on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels from October 27. The matches can also be streamed live on Voot Select.
Live streaming is available on YouTube on BWF.TV in selected territories as well.