BWF Worlds: Rusty Satwik and Chirag lose quarters, miss out on medal at home

Former World No.1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty didn't look at their brilliant best and went down in straight games to third seed Chinese pairing Chang Wang and Liang Wei Kang on Friday, August 21.Satwik-Chirag bowed out after a straight games loss in the quarters (Courtesy: PTI)Former World No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty did not look at their best as they went down in straight games to Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang of China. Satwik and Chirag lost without the fight they are usually known for, going down 18-21, 9-21 in the men’s doubles quarter-finals in just 36 minutes.The home fans, who had turned up in huge numbers at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium, were left disappointed as the Indian duo struggled with rhythm and consistency against a ruthless Liang and Wang.After singles stars, including PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty, crashed out before the quarter-final stage, India’s streak of winning a World Championships medal that has stretched since 2011 was kept alive by Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. The Indian duo reached the semi-finals after beating legendary Jia Yifan and Zhang Shu Xian of China, the fourth seeds, earlier in the day.Satwik and Chirag had appeared rusty even in their pre-quarter-final against Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy Kim Yap, eventually beating the lower-ranked pair 21-23, 21-19, 21-17. Satwik’s shoulder injury had kept them out of action for more than a month. In fact, their last completed match came in May, as they had pulled out of the Japan Open in June. Satwik said he had recovered well, but the injury was still playing on his mind when he went for his shots on Thursday.That was evident on Friday as the tall shuttler, known for his huge smashes, was far from his best. Liang and Wang did little to help the Indians’ cause, keeping the exchanges flat and denying them the room to unleash their attacking shots. Satwik and Chirag led 15-12 and then 18-16 in the opening game, controlling the rallies. But Liang and Wang dominated the forecourt, stitching together a run of five points to snatch the game from the Indians.Having played a decider in their pre-quarter-final, Satwik and Chirag were always facing a difficult physical challenge on the second consecutive day. As it turned out, Liang and Wang made sure they got the job done in straight games.In the second and final game, the Chinese pair steamrolled the Indians, who were making far too many errors from the forecourt.Satwik and Chirag will be hoping to rediscover their peak form before they head to Japan to defend their Asian Games gold medal. Having already won two World Championships medals, the defeat on Friday will sting for the Indians, especially considering they had an opportunity to script history at home.- EndsPublished On: Aug 21, 2026 18:15 IST