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Satwik-Chirag eye World Championship medal despite injury concerns. Can they overcome Chinese rivals Liang-Wang?
Satwik-Chirag in action (Picture credit: BAI Media)
Their previous outing came on July 14, when Satwik-Chirag faced Danish pair Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard in the opening round of the Japan Open Super 750.
After losing the first game 19-21, the Indians retired as Satwik’s shoulder injury flared up once again. He has been dealing with the shoulder problem for the past few years, with recurring flare-ups making it tough for him and Chirag to build momentum after strong tournament runs.
The pair won the Singapore Open Super 750, their first title in two years, but further injury concerns saw them retire midway through matches and withdraw from the Indonesia Open and Japan Open.
Satwik returned to rehab and, in the first week of August, stepped into competitive action to focus on his preparations for the World Championships.
Asked if the duo had enough time to train before arriving in New Delhi, Chirag told News18 Sports during an earlier media interaction, “We had a good couple of weeks. Even when Satwik was not training, there were specific movements he could do, so we continued playing and got a good chunk of practice in.”
As one of the seeded pairs in the men’s doubles draw, Satwik-Chirag received a bye in the opening round. They were then handed a walkover ahead of their Round of 32 clash against Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle, with Dunn withdrawing because of injury.
That meant Satwik-Chirag went an entire month without playing and the lack of court time showed in their Round of 16 clash. The Malaysian pair of Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King pushed them all the way, but Satwik-Chirag weathered the storm to book their place in the quarter-finals.
One win away from their third World Championship medal.
“When we were about to step on court, we knew it was going to be difficult. It was our first day, while the others had already played two or three matches. We knew it would take some time to get into a rhythm and the court conditions were going to be different as well,” Chirag said while speaking to the media.
“We were prepared for that. We were not at our best, so we knew we had to keep things simple. Eventually, we trusted that things would turn in our favour,” Chirag added.
Satwik, however, admitted that while he isn’t dealing with an active injury at the moment, he was still a little apprehensive about his shoulder as the match went the distance.
“It has been a while since we played, so I did not know how my body would respond. In practice, everything felt 100%, but competition is very different; you tend to get more tense, especially in the shoulders,” Satwik said.
“I was more worried about my health than the strategy. I was very happy with the third game because there were no bad signals; everything felt positive and I knew I could hold up,” Satwik added.
The Indian pair will next face third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, against whom they have won just four of their 13 meetings.
Their last meeting came at the Thomas Cup, where the Chinese pair prevailed in a thrilling three-game contest. Satwik-Chirag will have revenge on their minds, you would think.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18Satwik’s shoulder injury has been a recurring issue, causing him to withdraw from previous tournaments and impacting his recent performance. However, he has undergone rehab and his coach stated in early August that his shoulder was almost fully recovered and he was ready for the World Championships. Despite this, the injury remains a concern.
Ask News18August 20, 2026, 23:23 IST
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