Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Storm Into China Masters Final
Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a tactically astute performance to enter the China Masters final.
Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a tactically astute performance to overcome Malaysia's Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong and seal their place in the China Masters final for the third time in Shenzhen on Saturday. They are now just one step away from a second title of the season World No. 5 Satwik and Chirag, who finished runner-up at the 2023 and 2025 editions, recovered from a second-game lapse to prevail 21-15 18-21 21-11 over the world No. 29 Malaysians in 65 minutes. "It has been not easy 3 months for both of us. Yeah, it feels really good. Obviously, we were out for quite some time, so playing finals back in our second tournament after the break feels really good. So yeah, feels special," Chirag said.
The Asian Games champions will face China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the summit clash.
"We now go back, recover first. Then see, wake up, how our body feels. Then we need one more match. We will push our 100% tomorrow, then we'll take it from that time," Satwik said.
The Indians came into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head lead against Nur and Tan, having defeated the Malaysians at the 2024 Thailand Open and 2025 Malaysian Open.
Tan, 37, is a veteran doubles player who won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics with Goh V Shem.
Playing their fourth consecutive semifinal, Satwik and Chirag, seeded fourth, fell 0-5 behind but responded with seven straight points, including a gruelling 34-shot rally, to move ahead 7-5.
Three errors from Nur then helped them extend the lead to 10-6. Chirag and Satwik committed a few errors of their own but held an 11-9 advantage at the interval.
On resumption, Satwik's angled smashes kept troubling the Malaysians as the Indians moved to 15-12 and then 17-12 after another error from Tan.
At 18-15, the pairs engaged in an extraordinary 54-shot rally, with the Malaysian player even managing to keep the exchange alive while on the floor before eventually sending the shuttle long.
Nur then miscued another shot to hand the Indians five game points. Satwik and Chirag converted on their second opportunity to take the opening game.
After the change of sides, the Malaysians again made a quick start, racing to a 4-0 lead, but Satwik and Chirag recovered swiftly, using a fine flick serve to draw level at 5-5.
The two pairs then engaged in a series of cross-court returns, mixed with powerful smashes and quick interceptions. Tan struggled to exert himself in the game, while Nur remained erratic.
The Indians edged ahead 10-8, but two front-court errors from Satwik brought the Malaysians back on level terms. Another Satwik error at the net allowed Malaysia to take an 11-10 lead into the interval.
A body smash aimed at Nur kept the Indians level at 13-13 after the changeover, but Tan then combined a drop with a smash to put Malaysia ahead 14-13.
The two pairs continued to fight tooth and nail, trading points all the way to 18-18 before the Malaysians edged ahead and forced a decider.
The Indians put the slip-up at the back end of the second game behind them and opened up a 5-2 lead. Chirag was particularly sharp in finding gaps and leaving the Malaysians cramped for space.
A fine moment of sportsmanship followed when Chirag apologised and high-fived Tan after a shot came off the frame of his racket to give the Indians a 7-3 lead.
Satwik and Chirag continued to dominate the rallies and entered the interval with an 11-4 advantage.
Satwik then unleashed another brutal smash at Nur to make it 13-6 as the Malaysians began to run out of steam and belief. It was one-way traffic thereafter, with the Indians firmly in control. Chirag's shot landing on the backline earned them 11 match points.
Tan saved two, but Chirag converted on the third opportunity, dispatching a flick serve to seal the win.
Satwik and Chirag have played three game matches, often dropping the second game.
"This is the whole story of this week. We have been playing first game easily, then second game we are giving away in the 15-all and 16-all all...but it's fine for us. It's a good tournament for us," Satwik said.
"We are coming back from the injury. We wanted that crucial matches before playing Asian games. We want to get that feel, get that confidence. Even when we are 16 or 18 all, we want to... like yesterday, we were down, then we came back and we won.
"That kind of practice, we were missing in the practice back home. I think it was a good tournament for us. I think one more final here. Shenzhen has been really special. So looking forward for tomorrow."
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Chirag Shetty