Encouraging start for Satwik and Chirag as they seek form before Asian Games

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing in the China Masters opener. The World No. 5 pair will take on Popov brothers in the second round in Shenzhen.Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in China Masters (Courtesy: Badminton Photo)There were encouraging signs for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as they eased past their opening-round challenge at the China Masters, a prestigious BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament, in Shenzhen on Wednesday, September 2. The fourth seeds needed only 40 minutes on court to beat unseeded Malaysians Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing in the men's doubles opening round.It was a comfortable victory for the former World No. 1 doubles pair on a day when India witnessed mixed results. While Kidambi Srikanth eased past higher-ranked Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei, Lakshya Sen, India's highest-ranked men's singles player, lost to China's World No. 9 Victor Lai in straight games.However, Tanvi Sharma, 17, won her women's singles opener against Denmark's lower-ranked Amalie Schulz, 21-16, 21-17. The junior badminton world championships silver medallist, who won the Taipei Open Super 300 earlier this year, will face Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki in the second round.CONFIDENCE BOOSTERIt was a confidence-boosting outing for Satwik and Chirag, who did not look convincing at the World Championships in New Delhi last month. Returning from an injury layoff, Satwiksairaj looked far from his best in Delhi when the local pair reached the quarter-finals. However, on Wednesday, Satwik looked comfortable without any strapping on his shoulder. The tall shuttler from Andhra Pradesh was able to unleash his big smashes at will, troubling Arif and Xing throughout the contest. The rotations between Satwik and Chirag were as seamless as ever, with the duo looking hungrier for more. After racing to an 11-4 lead in the first game, Satwik and Chirag did not look back as they wrapped up the opening game in a flash. The second game was more evenly contested. At one point, the Indians were trailing 15-16, but they won a series of five points to ensure the opening-round contest did not go to a decider.When they bowed out in the quarter-finals in New Delhi, losing to World No. 3 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in straight games, questions were asked about Satwik's recovery from his shoulder injury. Satwik had conceded that the long-standing injury had played on his mind, but it did not affect the way he played in front of the home crowd. The very fact that Satwik and Chirag have travelled to Shenzhen to play the China Masters is an encouraging sign as the World No. 5 pair looks for match practice ahead of the Asian Games, where they will be looking to defend their gold medal.Satwik and Chirag will next face Christo and Toma Junior Popov of France in the second round. This will be Satwik and Chirag's first meeting against the French brothers in three years. The Indians have a 2-0 head-to-head record against the French pair.Satwik and Chirag have reached the finals of the China Masters in 2025 and 2023 with Shenzhen being one of their favourite hunting grounds.OTHER RESULTS India's mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto too entered the next round after defeating Thailand's Tonnakorn Saeheng and Tonnicha Saeheng 21-8 21-9. The duo will meet Chinese Taipei's Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui next.However, Devika Sihag went down 18-21 15-21 to Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova to end her campaign.The mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde also couldn't cross the opening hurdle, losing 16-21 18-21 to Chinese Taipei's Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin. (WIth PTI Inputs).- EndsPublished By: Akshay RameshPublished On: Sep 2, 2026 20:23 IST