Satwik-Chirag fall short of final after tough semifinal loss in Hangzhou

India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, saw their impressive run at the BWF World Tour Finals come to an end after a hard-fought semifinal defeat to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang on Saturday.

After making a confident start, the Indian duo could not sustain the momentum and went down 21-10, 17-21, 13-21 in a gripping contest that lasted one hour and three minutes. Satwik and Chirag dominated the opening game with sharp attacking play and solid defence, but the Chinese pair gradually found their rhythm and turned the match around with greater consistency and control in the latter two games.

The loss was particularly disappointing for the Indians as they had beaten the same opponents earlier in the group stage. However, Liang and Wang raised their level when it mattered most, using their speed and net play to neutralise the Indian challenge in the decider.

Satwik and Chirag had enjoyed a flawless group-stage campaign in the season-ending tournament, raising hopes of a historic final appearance. While they fell short of becoming the first Indian men’s pair to reach the summit clash of the prestigious event, their campaign was still memorable.

The duo nevertheless created history by becoming the first Indian men’s pair to reach the semifinals of the BWF World Tour Finals, underlining their growing stature on the world stage.