India's Satwik-Chirag enter China Masters final for 3rd time, beat Malaysian pair

India's Satwik-Chirag enter China Masters final for 3rd time, beat Malaysian pairIndia's Satwiksairaj rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their magical run at the China Masters as they reached the final for the second year running. The Indian star duo defeated Malaysia's Nur Mohd Ayub Azriyn and Tan Wee Kiong with a scoreline of 21-16, 18-21, 21-11 in one hour and six minutes on Saturday, September 5. This also extended their winning run over Azriyn and Tan to 3-0 with a good performance in a cagey affair where they did get tested at times. This is the third time that the Indian duo are making it to the final, but they're yet to win the title at the China Masters. HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDEDIt wasn't the best start for the Indian duo as they committed errors early on and conceded a 0-5 lead to the Malaysian pair. But then, the duo found their rhythm back and went on a seven-point scoring run to wrestle the lead in the contest. While the run of points came to an end, Satwik-Chirag were able to take the lead into the break with the score at 11-9. After the restart, the contest quickly became cagey with both teams exchanging points and then producing some exceptional badminton on the court. There were shots that seemed to almost evade the players and what followed was a sensational rally that contained 54 shots. In the end, Sat-Chi were able to see off the game and take the lead. The second game started much like the first one. Satwik and Chirag were off their mark and Azriyn and Tan quickly moved into a 4-0 lead. But the Indian duo stormed back into the contest much like the first one as they levelled things up at 5-5. Much like the first one, Sat-Chi were able to wrestle the lead from their Malaysian counterparts. But Azriyn and Tan went on a three-point winning run to take the lead into the break. Right after the restart, Satwik and Chirag started to use the smash a bit more to get the momentum but it was the Malaysian duo who took control. They once again started to take control, despite things being a bit cagey. In their two battles before this one, Azriyn and Tan never took a game off Sat-Chi. But today, they were able to and push the game into the decider. The pressure was clearly on the Indian duo at this point and they responded to it by taking the lead early on. Azriyn and Tan showed their competitiveness once more and started to make a comeback. But once again, the Indian duo started to target their opponents' bodies with their shots to put them into tough spots. Sat-Chi looked to be in far better control in the third game, as they quickly moved to a 9-3 lead. They entered the break with an 11-4 lead and the contest seemingly in their pocket. After the restart, Sat-Chi looked ready to wrap up the match quickly as Azriyn and Tan looked like they were losing steam quickly. Unforced errors started to creep into the game and the Indian lead was 16-6. While the Malaysian duo showed some fight, it wasn't enough in the end. Sat-Chi saw off the game to complete the match and head into the final on Sunday, where they will face either Tee Kai Kun and Yap Roy King of Malaysia or China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu. - EndsPublished On: Sep 5, 2026 19:34 IST