Satwik-Chirag’s World Championships run ends as Liang-Wang defeat Indian duo

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty exited the BWF World Championships after losing to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the men’s doubles quarter-finals. The defeat ended India’s campaign in the event, leaving Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as lone representatives

New Delhi: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s bid for a second straight World Championships semi-final ended on Friday as China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang defeated the Indian pair 21-18, 21-9 in the men’s doubles quarter-finals here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

The loss brought an end to India’s men’s doubles campaign at the tournament and left Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as the country’s only remaining representatives. The women’s doubles pair had booked a semi-final place earlier in the day, securing at least a bronze medal.

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Satwik and Chirag, who had arrived in New Delhi as defending bronze medallists from the previous edition, found themselves under pressure from the opening exchanges. Liang and Wang quickly moved 3-0 ahead, with their attacking play causing problems for the Indians.

The fifth-seeded pair gradually settled and began matching their opponents point for point. Satwik and Chirag even managed to take a narrow 11-10 advantage at the interval, setting up what looked like a tight finish.

The Indian pair maintained a small cushion after the break, but the Chinese combination refused to let them escape. At 18-18, the contest was finely balanced and the pressure shifted to the closing rallies.

Liang then produced a powerful smash that Chirag could not return, putting China ahead 19-18. Two further mistakes from Chirag — one into the net and another beyond the baseline — handed Liang and Wang the opening game.

The second game turned into a very different contest.

Satwik and Chirag struggled to recover their momentum and allowed their opponents to build a 6-1 lead. The gap had widened to 11-5 by the interval, leaving the Indians with a steep climb.

Liang and Wang continued to dictate the pace after the restart, while the Indian pair could not find the attacking response that had kept them competitive earlier. The Chinese pair moved rapidly towards the finish and closed out the game 21-9.

The match lasted only 35 minutes, ending Satwik and Chirag’s hopes of improving on their bronze-medal finish from 2025.

The Indians had also reached the semi-finals last year before losing to China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi. This time, another Chinese combination proved too strong, ending their campaign in the last eight.