Capping off a week where they won yet another title, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have now climbed to their career-best ranking of World number 2 in the latest standings released on Tuesday.
The pair replaced the Chinese duo of Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang, whom they had defeated in the semi-finals of the recently concluded Korea Open that the Indian pair won. In the final, they had beaten the reigning world number one pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Satwik and Chirag had started the season as the fifth ranked doubles pair in the world, and have since won four major titles.
Sunday's Korea Open win was Satwik and Chirag’s third BWF title of the year after they claimed the Swiss Open (Super 300) and Indonesia Open (Super 1000) titles also in 2023. It was also third Super 500 title together after winning the Thailand Open in 2019 and India Open in 2022. They are also the current Asian champions after winning April's Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai.
The Indian pair has remained unbeaten in all the seven finals they have played since 2022 (including the Commonwealth Games final). Moreover, they currently boast an incredible 10-match unbeaten streak on the BWF World Tour this season, making them a dominant force in the men's doubles circuit.
In the women's singles rankings, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu managed to maintain her position on the 17th spot despite her early departure from the Korea Open.
Meanwhile, HS Prannoy retained his position as India's top-ranked shuttler, currently standing at the 10th spot in the men's singles chart while Lakshya Sen's has dropped one spot to be placed at world number 13.
On the other hand, Kidambi Srikanth, who has been facing challenges with his form, continues to be ranked at the 20th position.
Women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who made a second-round exit from the Super 500 tournament last week, hold on to their place in the top 20, occupying 19th place in the list.
(With inputs from IANS)
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