Shenzhen, September 5 (Daily Kiran) : The Indian badminton pair of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the finals of the China Masters after defeating Malaysia’s Noor Muhammad Azrin and Tan Wee Kiong 21-16, 18-21, 21-11 at the Shenzhen Arena on Saturday.
This victory marks the third time the duo, known as the “Smash Brothers,” has reached the finals of this tournament in the past four years.
Despite a shaky start where they fell behind 0-5, the top-ranked men’s doubles team from India quickly regained their momentum by scoring seven consecutive points to lead 7-5. They maintained this advantage to take the first game 21-16. The Malaysian pair fought back, winning the second game 21-18, which pushed the match to a decisive third game.
In the final game, the reigning champions of the 2022 Asian Games dominated, leaving the Malaysian players with little chance for a comeback. Although the Malaysians managed to save two match points, their efforts fell short as Satwik and Chirag secured the win in one hour and six minutes with a score of 21-11.
In the finals, they will face the winners of the match between Malaysia’s T Kai Wun/Yap Roy King and China’s He Ji Ting/Ren Jiang Yu.
Earlier, on Friday, Satwik and Chirag displayed impressive skills by overcoming Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen with a score of 21-13, 16-21, 21-18 to reach the semifinals. The Indian duo showcased remarkable composure in the final game, continuing their strong performance at the China Masters. They have reached the semifinals of this tournament every year since 2019, finishing as runners-up in 2023 and 2025. This latest victory against Astrup and Rasmussen was their second, having previously defeated the Danish pair in the quarterfinals in 2024.
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