Star Indian badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty added to their impressive resume by securing the Korea Open title on Sunday. It was their fourth title of the year, and 10th consecutive match win.
In the final, Satwik-Chirag took down BWF World No 1 pairing Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in a tough three-game contest. The victory took the Indian duo from No 3 to No 2 in the world.
One of the best men's doubles team in the world currently, Satwik-Chirag are on the cusp of scaling the rankings peak.
MORE: Satwik-Chirag win Korea Open 2023
What is the current BWF ranking of Satwik-Chirag?
As per the BWF ranking points system, Satwik-Chirag were awarded 9200 points for winning the Korea Open, and Alfian-Ardianto received 7800 points as runners-up.
The top 5 in the BWF rankings in the men's doubles category (as of 25 July 2023) after the points updates are as follows:
| Rank | Players | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto |
91629 |
| 2 |
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty |
87211 |
| 3 |
Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang Scroll to Continue with Content |
86211 |
| 4 |
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik |
78894 |
| 5 |
Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi |
72161 |
How can Satwik-Chirag get to No 1 in BWF rankings?
With the Japan Open 2023 starting on Tuesday, 11000 ranking points are available to the winners of the men's doubles draw. Satwik-Chirag will surely have their eyes on the prize.
| Winner | Runner-Up | 3-4 | 5-8 | 9-16 | 17-32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11000 | 9350 | 7700 | 6050 | 4320 | 2660 |
If Alfian-Ardianto are eliminated in the quarterfinals, a tournament win will see Satwik-Chirag leapfrog them into #1 in the rankings.
A runner-up spot will be enough in case the Indonesians are knocked out in the round of 16, and a semi-final spot will do in case of a round of 32 exit for the current number one.
The most likely scenario, however, is that Alfian-Ardianto will go rather deep in the competition, making the top spot difficult to achieve by the end of this tournament.
Can Satwik-Chirag get to the top later in the season?
There are still 13 BWF tournaments remaining in this calendar year and even if the duo does not participate in all of them, chances of making a serious dent in the rankings remain high.
The most lucrative prizes on offer are the China Open (Super 1000) from 5-10 September and the BWF World Tour Finals from 13-17 December, both with 12000 ranking points on offer for the winners.