Satwik-Chirag win Singapore Open, end two-year title drought

Shetty then jumped onto Rankireddy, who lifted his partner before they broke into their celebratory dance with Shetty removing his jersey, much to the delight of the fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday. Indian badminton fans had missed these scenes for two years as it was exactly 24 months ago that Rankireddy and Shetty had last won a title (2024 Thailand Open).

After coming close many times since then — including three finals — the ace Indian doubles duo finally ended the wait when they clinched the title at the $1 million Singapore Open by beating Indonesian third seeds Fajar Alfian and Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in an hour and 13 minutes in the final.

“It’s been a while since I’ve shown my body. Finally, all the viewers in the stadium, back home, across the world, saw it. I hope they were happy. I have put in a lot of effort in the gym to make it good,” an elated Shetty joked.