China Masters: Satwik-Chirag Enter Title Clash For Third Time

China Masters: Satwik-Chirag enter title clash for third time (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty enter title clash for third time in the BWF China Masters at the Shenzhen Arena in Shenzhen, China, on Saturday. Photo credit: Badminton Photo/BWF)

BWF World Tour Super: India’s top-ranked men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the final of the China Masters following their victory over Malaysia’s Nur Mohd Azriyn and Tan Wee Kiong 21-16, 18-21, 21-11 at the Shenzhen Arena on Saturday.

With this victory, the fondly called ‘Smash Bros’ registered their third final at the event in four years, since 2023.

Though Satwik-Chirag began their semi-final clash with a 0-5 deficit, the Indians found their rhythm by scoring seven consecutive points, 7-5, and maintained their lead from there to close the opening game 21-16. Then the Malaysians forced a decider by securing the second game 18-21.

The 2022 Asian Games champions then dominated the closing game, leaving little room for the Malaysians to recover. Though they managed to save two match points, their efforts weren’t enough as Satwik-Chirag confirmed their final spot with a 21-11 victory in an hour and six minutes.

They’ll face the winner of the match between Malaysia’s Tee Kai Wun/Yap Roy King and China’s He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu in the final.

Earlier on Friday, SatChi produced a fighting performance to beat Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-13, 16-21, 21-18 and enter the semifinals.

The Indian pair made a strong start but were pushed into a decider after the Danes levelled the contest.

Satwik and Chirag held their nerve in the final game to seal a hard-fought victory. The win continued the Indian duo's impressive run at the China Masters, where they have reached the semifinals in every edition since 2019, finishing runners-up in 2023 and 2025. The victory also marked their second win over Astrup and Rasmussen at the China Masters, after they had beaten the Danish pair in the quarterfinals in 2024.

Earlier, Kidambi Srikanth’s campaign at the China Masters ended after losing to Lee Cheuk Yiu in the quarterfinals.

Srikanth suffered a 16-21, 16-21 loss at the hands of Lee at the Shenzhen Arena. It was Srikanth’s first quarterfinal appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 750 event or above in three years.

Lee's lead in their head-to-head record was also increased as a result of the defeat, as Srikanth has now lost their last four matches in a row to Lee. In the first round of the 2018 India Open, he was victorious over the Hong Kong player for the only time in his career.

In the pre-quarters, Srikanth pulled off a stunning upset over Canadian World No. 9 and recent World Championship bronze medallist Victor Lai, winning 21-18, 21-19. He had defeated Chinese Taipei’s World No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in just 35 minutes in the opening round.

Lee's lead in their head-to-head record was also increased as a result of the defeat, as Srikanth has now lost their last four matches in a row to Lee. In the first round of the 2018 India Open, he was victorious over the Hong Kong player for the only time in his career.

Meanwhile, India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto lost their second-round match 21-18, 21-18 against Liu Kuang-Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui of Chinese Taipei.

Article Source: IANS