BWF Malaysia Open 2025 Day 5 Results: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty exit after straight-games defeat in semifinals

India's campaign at the Malaysia Open has come to a close after Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their semifinal clash to the South Korean pair of Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo on January 11. The Indians put up a valiant fight, but were unable to hold onto their momentum long enough to claim a win.

The match began as a closely fought battle, with the two pairs trading points back and forth, neither able to hold on to the serve for too long. However, early into the game, Rankireddy and Shetty lost their flow, and what was a one-point deficit at 6-7 turned into a gaping hole of 6-11 by the time of the mid-game interval. From there, things went from bad to worse for the Indians, and Kim and Seo comfortably walked away with the first game 21-10.

Despite their lackluster performance in the opening game, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty looked ready to fight for their spot in the final of the Malaysia Open after the break. Similar to the first, the second game got off to an incredibly close start. However, this time it was the Indian World No. 7 pair that moved ahead 7-6 before taking a three-point lead heading into the interval.

Not ready to let go without a fight, Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo quickly made a comeback to their dominant ways after the interval, evening the score at 12-12, before moving ahead 14-12, and then 16-14. From there, the Koreans went on a run of four straight points to give themselves six match-point opportunities. They only needed two, and closed out the game at 21-15 to move into the final of the Malaysia Open.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to play India Open next

After this semifinal finish at the Malaysia Open, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will now be in action on home ground at the India Open. The last time the duo competed at the event, they made it to the quarterfinals before being knocked out by the Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

This time, the World No. 7 duo will be looking to put on a stronger show in front of Indian audiences as they hunt for their first title of the year. The India Open is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 14, and will also feature various other Indian stars, including Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu.