Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced their equal in the Chinese duo of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang following an impressive performance in the China Masters 2023. The top seeds gave it their best until the very end, but they finally ran out of steam and lost to Keng and Chang in the decisive games of 19-21, 21-18, and 19-21.
In the most recent game, the Indians showed steely grit by consecutively preserving six match points. They rallied from 13–20 down to 19–20, but in the humdinger, they lost the final match point.
Satwik and Chirag got off to a slow start as the Chinese duo took control in the first game. The Indians attempted to close the margin, but ultimately lost by a score of 19-21.
Satwik and Chirag came back in the second game with their trademark short point, aggressive style rhythm. They created a 16-12 advantage in the fourth quarter and won the game 21-18 to compel a deciding. Unfortunately, their efforts were futile.
Nonetheless, Satwik and Chirag finished a solid campaign in Shenzen, having defeated China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the semi-finals on Saturday, 21-15, 22-20.
The Indian duo has won six of the seven semi-finals they have faced this calendar year, with their only defeat coming at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 event in January.
The ace Indian badminton men’s doubles duo is enjoying a fantastic 2023 season. In October, the couple brought honour to the country by capturing a historic gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. Soon after, the pair conquered a previously unclimbed mountain, becoming World Number 1 in the men’s doubles category.
This year, Satwik and Chirag also won the Badminton Asia Championships, the Indonesia Super 1000, the Korea Super 500, and the Swiss Super 300. Despite all of their triumphs in 2023, Satwik and Chirag have not made the cut for the coveted year-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, the same city where they created history.
Featured Image: ESPN India