Plan A-ttack: How Satwik-Chirag dismantled world No 1 Goh-Izzuddin to enter Singapore Open semifinals

While Mathias Boe did extremely well to bring in the European defensive sturdiness to their game and equip Satwik-Chirag with a Plan B should the first three strokes of a rally not assert their dominance, coach Tan and Gopichand were pretty clear that the duo needed to live up to their reputation as attacking giants.

Tan brought them together circa 2015-16 seeing the very potential of the two-barrelled cannon. And Gopichand insisted that a full-fledged, no-punches-pulled attack would be the duo’s defining canon. 2025 started roughly with an India Open semifinals defeat to Malaysians Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izuddin, who have gone on to become World No 1. At the halfway stage, even if their rank reads No 27, Satwik-Chirag banished the Malaysians in under 40 minutes on Friday with a destructive 21-17, 21-15 win at the Singapore Open.

The real Malaysian Test will fetch up in the form of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semis on Saturday – for it’s that deceptively skilled Malaysian pair that ended their Olympic medal dream in Paris. Though the Indian game is extremely versatile now, in helpful conditions, Satwik-Chirag are likely to get a carte blanche to go on the attack, and not get unnecessarily mired in muddled rallies – though Aaron Chia will try just that.

Crisp, curt, clipped smashing at the first possible opportunity is how the Indians would want their game to proceed. Against Goh-Izuddin, who are atop world rankings largely because of all-round inconsistency in men’s doubles, the intent to attack and not dawdle for a second worked swell for the Indians in Singapore.

The Satwik serve started out rusty – though the player himself will laugh wryly at being faulted for height by the umpire early in the match. He will be punch pleased that his last serve of the opening set was unreturnable and gave them the 21-17 first strike after they broke away at 7-7.

That particular point was a statement of intent. Trailing 6-7, Satwik had the Malaysians fraying, dispersed chasing his pushes to their backhand back corner. But it was the last two shots that are Indian badminton’s iconic 1-2 combo, as first Satwik, and next Chirag leapt in the air to send down steep no-arguments-brooking smashes in quick succession.

Short points galore

It really is tough to pick one Indian, but when both forget about the tune-up jab and go for a smash-smash routine, very few defenses can hold. Chirag is recovering from back problems, but not in terrible discomfort when jumping high, so there was a flurry of full-blooded smashes in exchanges that barely ever crossed he dozen-shot mark. The snappy rallies stayed snapped shut, as the Malaysians couldn’t help offering altitude and paying for the desperate lifts each time. They were no way in control of the flat game either.

Izuddin had a few eye-popping retorts, not least a backhand whip return to a serve, and some of the Malaysian drops and even net tumbles tested Chirag on the front court. But nothing bothered the Indians enough to even unsheath the panic button from its plastic cover. They remained aggressive, unrelenting and fearless of being pursued by Goh-Izuddin.

Satwik, later, spellt out the no-nuance-needed approach as the second set was even more clinical. “We have played against them before many times. And after they came back from the break. They been playing well. We played them at India Open. And (it was) close in the first game but we couldn’t capitalise. But here we are well prepared and focusing on our strategy than opponents’ strategy,” Satwik told BWF, stressing on not getting drawn into another’s maze.

Allowing opponents to dictate pace and rhythm of rallies had been an issue when they lost at the World Championships in 2023 and Olympics in 2024. The Indians insist on taking the lead now. “Because we want to play our A game and see what they come up with. We didn’t want to just think too much about the opponents. We are preparing ourselves for each and every point and supporting each other. And it’s been quite a two-month journey, so really happy and looking forward,” Satwik said.

Chirag kept poking at his sides, but seemed to attack with no impediment. “Everyday is getting better. We didn’t really know how and if we will be able to play at Singapore,” he said of the tough times away from the sport, tending to his injury. “Because frankly speaking we just trained for 10 days in a span of two months. I had a lot of doubts whether I’ll be able to play because with my back condition I didn’t know how it will go. It’s amazing that we could play and looking forward to tomorrow,” he said.

Wanting to make a point, and knowing their combined attack suffices, is something the coaches have been doing for a while. Coach Tan had manifested this attacking mode a decade ago. Now he has to help them realise that potential against their nemeses, Aaron-Soh. Satwik pointed to his coaches after the win, and Chirag pumped his fist and both coaches were quite animated, and the reasons weren’t simply bettering their Round 2 Singapore record. But these are title contending elites of badminton. It’s the Sunday they need to get to, and there’s some colourful Telugu, Hindi and English words that amount to the ‘Hulk, Smash’ orders.