China Masters Super 750: Chirag-Satwik show their evolution in front of former coach Tan Kim Her, join HS Prannoy in the quarterfinals | Badminton News

India’s best shuttlers of the 2023 season – HS Prannoy in men’s singles and Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in men’s doubles – produced commanding performances on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at the China Masters Super 750 in Shenzhen. Prannoy got the better of rising young Dane shuttler Magnus Johannesen, breezing through to a controlled 21-12, 21-18 win in 40 minutes. Top seeds Satwik and Chirag made light work of what was a tricky test on paper, getting past the Japanese duo of Akira Koga and Taichi Saito 21-15, 21-16 in 46 minutes.
For Chirag and Satwik, the stay at world No. 1 was brief but there is a window to climb back up the rankings if they can go the dance in China. And they have played their two matches so far looking like they mean business. Saito and Koga came into this match knowing they got the better of the Indians in their last meeting, a three-game thriller at the Singapore Open. But from the word go, the Indians looked dialed in.

Koga/Saito 🇯🇵 face up to No.1 seeds Rankireddy/Shetty 🇮🇳.#BWFWorldTour #ChinaMasters2023 pic.twitter.com/ix2CKje6Ce
— BWF (@bwfmedia) November 23, 2023
A sign of that is usually how well they can rotate between each other from front and back and that was on show on Thursday. While Koga and Saito largely depended on their defence, the dovetailing between the Indians made it difficult for their opponents. Both Chirag and Satwik took turns to impress from the front-court, and on more than one occasion, displayed solid racket-head control to change the direction of the shuttle.
That it came against a Japanese pair made for interesting viewing because sitting in the coaching chair for Koga and Saito was the Malaysian doubles coach Tan Kim Her, the man who played a big role in getting Chirag and Satwik to work well together.
“We owe a lot of credit to him for moulding us into a pair from junior players to being in the top 10 of the world rankings,” Chirag had said before the India Open at the start of this year. “Initially it was very tough, we were from different places and spoke different languages, and spent time with different people. We were both tall and were good from the backcourt. We didn’t prefer playing from the front court. We were able to adapt eventually, and worked with a common goal.”
That’s where “Tan coach”, as they call the Malaysian to this date, came in and told them a good doubles partnership is like a marriage, as Satwik recalled. So much so that when the pair returned to Hyderabad after just one win in their first four tournaments together, Tan told them ‘Len, don’t worry if this pair doesn’t work out, we will split you all up and find better solutions because you both are good. But I truly believe you guys can be good and kick on to be a good pair.’ It changed things decisively. From losing their first three international tournaments together in the opening round, they went on to win three straight titles. A complete 180-degree swing in fortunes.
Today, they are one of the best pairs in the world, and ‘Tan coach’ had the front-row seat to see the evolution.
In men’s singles, Prannoy seemed always a step in front of Johannesen. The Indian usually relies on his rallying game but is evidently trying to add more tricks up his sleeve and those were on display as he used his disguised backhand pushes to good effect. The second game was trickier than the first but the Asian Games bronze medall pushed on from 15-15 to ensure there were no hiccups.
In what is the final Super 750 event of the year, Prannoy and Satwik-Chirag – who are well placed for now in the Olympic qualification cycle – will now look to go deep. A spot in the season-ending World Tour Finals might be out of reach for both of them, but a deep run in one of the top events of the season will be a fitting way to close out a memorable calendar year for all three of them.
The task is tougher for Prannoy, as the 8th seed will now take on third-seeded Japan shuttler Kodai Naraoka. Prannoy trails 1-4 against Naraoka but won their last match at the Indonesia Open. Chirag and Satwik will next play Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin, where the Indians lead 3-0.

All the best boys 🤩💪#ChinaMasters2023 #IndiaontheRise #BadmintonTwitter #Badminton pic.twitter.com/Yg9ZJQ8H5k
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) November 23, 2023