Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty would play the final of a Super 1000 event sooner rather than later was inevitable.

The Indian men's doubles pair have consistently grown in stature, notching a number of firsts for Indian badminton in the last couple of years. It was only a matter of time before they challenged for the biggest titles.

But the way Satwik and Chirag stormed into the final of the Indonesia Open on Saturday was a reminder of just why they are such a highly-rated and exciting pair, Asian champions and world No 4 already.

At the Isatora, badminton's sentimental temple, the Indians showed both - the best of their game and just how much they have evolved as a pair to beat Kang MinHyuk - Seo SeungJae 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a thrilling, topsy-turvy battle.

The result was the first ever Super 1000 final and a chance to add another first to their impressive record book. 

Later, HS Prannoy's Indonesia Open campaign came to an end in the semifinals once again. He went down to world No 1 and two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-15.

Ecstatic Chirag commented while talking to BWF after the match, Finally we are in our first 1000 final and it feels very good... we kept our calm although they had a comeback in the third game, we stuck till the end and I am happy we didn't run away from our tactics, we stuck to it till the end. You can't blindly attack, they have strong defense. We were mixing it up and once the shuttle was low we were not afraid to lift it as well."

The tactics - all-out, fast-paced attack backed by the aggression they possess in spades and court coverage - was almost a double-edged sword.

In the first game, the Koreans were quick off the blocks and incisive, capitalising on a good start and untimely errors from the Indians. Satwik-Chirag trailed 11-6 at the break and despite making a comeback, couldn't catch up. They were unable to employ the smashes that were so effective when they knocked out the top seeds and home favourites Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in commanding straight games on Friday.