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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bag bronze at World Championship, extending India’s 14-year medal streak despite defeat to Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi.
Satwik-Chirag finished their World Championship campaign with a bronze (Picture credit: AFP)
Star Indian men’s doubles shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, on Saturday, August 30, lost in three games to the Chinese duo of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi, to settle for a second bronze at the World Championship, ensuring India’s 14-year-long streak of winning medals at the prestigious event remains unbroken.
This marks Satwik-Chirag’s second World Championship medal, after their bronze in the 2022 Japan edition.
Satwik-Chirag went down 19-21, 21-18, 12-21 to Chen-Liu in a gruelling 1-hour-7-minute semifinal at Adidas Arena Court 1.
This marked just their second encounter, after Satwik-Chirag had beaten the Chinese pair in straight games in the 2024 Thailand Open final.
In the semifinal’s first game, Satwik-Chirag raced to an 11-5 lead within five minutes, but Chen-Liu fought back to 14-all after the break and earned three game points at 20-17.
Satwik-Chirag saved two match points, but Chen-Liu sealed the first game on the third, taking the lead.
The second game began much the same, with Satwik-Chirag edging ahead early, but Chen-Liu stayed close. India led 11-9 at the break.
After the mid-game interval, Satwik-Chirag stayed ahead, though the Chinese pair’s flick serves caused trouble, even sending Chirag tumbling. From 11-16 down, Chen-Liu rattled off five points to level, but the Indians held on, forcing a decider.
In the decider, Satwik-Chirag stumbled out of the blocks, dropping nine successive points before scoring. The Indians looked tense, while Chen-Liu grew more confident with each passing rally.
By the mid-game break, Chen-Liu led 11-3 and soon sealed the victory over Satwik and Chirag, setting up a final against South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae on Sunday, August 31.
(More to follow)
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