China Masters: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty Lose in Final

India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost 19-21, 21-18, 21-19 to second seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China in the final of China Masters 2023 in Shenzhen on Sunday.

The Indian pair gave ample display of their grit as they saved six championship points from 13-20 to 19-20 after recovering from 1-8 down in the decider, but Liang and Wang found their bearing just in time to win the first men’s doubles China Masters title for the hosts in eight years.

With this victory, Liang and Wang avenged their Asian Games loss to the Indians.

“You never say never. I think at 13-20, we didn’t have much to lose because we were under no pressure. We had to win nine points on the trot for us to win the match,” Chirag said.

“We just played our game, didn’t really think too much, we took our chances, got a few quick points from them, and at 19-20 it was like, anybody’s point, quite unlucky there.

“But yeah, it was a good game and especially the tournament has been really good, so yeah, looking forward to next year.”

In a finale of fluctuating fortunes, the Indian shuttlers couldn’t produce their best as their defence, particularly Satwik’s, wilted under the pressure of Liang and Wang, who looked in the zone.

Wang rose to the occasion and stood tall in the key moments, winning the battle of the front court play with Chirag.

It was not a smash-feast like the semifinals but was an exhibition of versatility of skills as the two pairs focused more on placement and angles, varying the pace to outmanoeuvre the other.

The Chinese pair of Liang and Wang led the head-to-head record against their opponents going into this final though the Indian duo won their most recent meetings in straight games.

Chirag started with a service fault and then hit two miscued strokes as the Indians lagged behind 1-4. The slow start affected India as they were left to do the catch-up act.

The Indians kept themselves in the hunt, levelling at 9-9, 15-15 and 19-19 but Liang then unleashed a smash to earn a game point and sealed it, when Satwik went to net.

The Indians regrouped and staged a remarkable rally to win the second game 21-18 but Satwik and Chirag committed a series of unforced errors to allow the Chinese pair to make a rollicking start in the decider.

The Indians fell 1-8 behind before the Chinese pair grabbed an 11-6 advantage at the final break.

The Chinese shuttlers maintained upper hand and earned seven championship points with Wang producing another stiff return. But then, Satwik and Chirag showed their grit as they went on to save six points to raise hopes of a twist.

But the Chinese managed to get past them following another excruciating rally which ended with Chirag spraying into the net.

“All the three games were really close, neck-and-neck. Even the first game, I got rhythm towards the end. We didn’t get the rhythm but still got points in service. Few quick points, we would have won,” rued Satwik.

“Second game too, we were down 6-10 and got rhythm slowly then in the third game, the start wasn’t really good. We gave like 5 or 6 easy points and obviously it was tough,” he added.

They played their fourth final on BWF World Tour this year having previously won all three of them at Swiss Open 2023, Indonesia Open 2023 and Korea Open 2023 earlier this year.

Satwik and Chirag have won also won the Badminton Asian Championships and the Asian Games gold medal in a stellar year.

The Indian star pair had got the better of home favourites He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu 21-16, 22-20 in the semi-final. While their Chinese opponents had defeated compatriots Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi 21-17, 14-21, 21-15 in the other semi-final.

The BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300. One more category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.

Each of these tournaments offers different ranking points and prize money. The highest points and prize pool is offered at the Super 1000 level.

Rectify few mistakes ahead of 2024 Olympics

Looking forward to a crucial 2024 with the Paris Olympics lined up, Satwik said it’s about managing workload and rectifying a few mistakes.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a fantastic year for us. Whatever we thought we wanted to do well, we already did. We achieved those goals. When we started in 2023, we wanted to win medal in Asian Games,” Satwik said.

“We wanted to be in the top 2, top 3. We are really happy the way we played and we are going into the main year for us, for everyone.

“In 2024, we want to rectify a few mistakes, take care of our bodies, how to manage workload. There are not many tournaments and we have to play very smart. Be very smart on court too.

“So, it’s about going back, rest and then, get back. 2023 has been amazing. And I want to do well in 2024 as well,” he signed off.

(With inputs from Agencies)