Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the smash-hit men's doubles team of Indian badminton, continued their dream run this year as they emerged champions at the Korea Open with a gritty three-game win over world No. 1 pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhamad Rian Ardianto in the final here on Sunday.

Playing their fourth final of the year, the world No. 3 Indians rallied their way to a 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 win over the two-time World Championships bronze medallists in the Super 500 badminton tournament.

"The way we played today in the finals, didn't start off that well, but happy that we could win that second game and keep the momentum until the very end. Yes, extremely happy that we could win consecutive titles after the Indonesia Open," Chirag said after the match.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champions thus extended their winning streak to 10 matches. It was another feather in their cap, following their victory at the Swiss Open, Asian Championships and Indonesia Open this year.

"It’s been a pretty good week for us. We played some amazing badminton throughout the week here and I am happy with the performance. We want to continue with the same momentum next week at Japan Open. So, we’ll go back now, rest and focus again," Satwik said.

The Indian pair had a 2-2 head-to-head count against Asian Games silver medallists Alfian and Ardianto, but they had beaten the Indonesians in their last two meetings.

Shaky start

The Indians looked a little subdued in the beginning as they trailed in the opening game.

The Indonesians played flat rallies at a high pace to open up a 4-2 lead early on. The Indians were pegged back as Alfian and Ardianto didn't allow their opponents to mount their attack. Errors also crept in as Satwik and Chirag conceded a seven-point advantage to their rivals at the break.

The Indonesians worked on it to earn four game points. The Indians saved one with Chirag's crosscourt return before Satwik sprayed one to the net.

The recovery

The second game started on an even keel with the two pairs engaging in some delectable rallies. The Indians infused more power and pace into their game as they started to dominate the proceedings.

The Indians opened up a slender 6-4 lead after a Chirag interception and maintained it till 10-8, with Satwik unleashing his trademark smash.

The Indian duo had a cushion of three points at the break. They used it to their advantage to race ahead to 17-11. Soon Satwik and Chirag grabbed nine game points. They squandered two before Chirag sent one down the middle to take the match to the decider.

In the third game, Satwik and Chirag looked in control, eking out a 9-6 lead before going into the interval at 11-8. The Indians were more aggressive and managed to keep the top-ranked pair under the pump. They converted the second of the seven match points to register a stunning win.

Since pairing up, Satwik and Chirag have won multiple titles, including Commonwealth Games gold, Thomas Cup gold, bronze medal in the World Championships and collected wins in Super 300 (Syed Modi and Swiss Open), Super 500 (Thailand and India Open), Super 750 (French Open) and Indonesia Open Super 1000.

With inputs from PTI