China Masters Super 750: Satwik-Chirag fall just short in the final after nearly scripting an epic comeback | Badminton News

An epic comeback, definition, requires a setback. On Sunday, in the men’s doubles final of the China Masters Super 750, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty seemed down and out at various points in the deciding third game. World No.1 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang led 10-3 and then 19-10. They had seven match points at 20-13. The finish line was in sight. They were bouncing around the court like Energizer bunnies.But the Indians, top seeds at the event, calmly reeled off one point after another to save six of those championship points. But in the end, they fell just short of what would have been one of the all-time great fightbacks, as Liang-Wang won the final 21-19 18-21 21-19 after a 71-minute thriller.
It also brought an end to a remarkable win streak for Satwik-Chirag in tournament finals. Playing their 20th final (not including team events), Satwik-Chirag had won 16 of those before Sunday. They were unbeaten in title clashes dating back to the start of 2022, when they won the India Open, winning eight straight finals since then. It was a run that saw them clinch the Commonwealth Games 2022 gold, Asian Championships, a Super 1000 title in Indonesia, and most recently, a horic gold at the Asian Games.
But all good things eventually come to an end.
Nearly an epic comeback
The winning run came to a close but not before a fight-unto-the-last-shuttle effort Chirag and Satwik.
At 13-20, Chirag made sharp returns to help the Indians take the initiative in the first three shots, something that was not happening earlier in the decider. The error came from Liang’s backhand in the backcourt.
At 14-20, on Chirag’s serve, it was Satwik who took over at the net to intercept quickly and target Liang at his right hip. The Chinese pair wanted the shuttle changed but the Indians were keen to carry on.
At 15-20, Chirag’s soft touch at the net set up a big booming smash for Satwik. Wang’s dive was in vain but it gave them a little breathing space as the court had to be mopped.
At 16-20, Chirag played a smart third shot to go over Wang at the net and Liang played a nervous shot into the net. The murmurs grew louder at the arena at this point.
At 17-20, Chirag and Satwik controlled the flatter exchanges and the error came from Wang, who was having a sensational match till then. Another Chinese request for a shuttle change was denied.
At 18-20, it wasn’t a great serve from Chirag but the Indians recovered quickly to reset in the rally and a brilliant intervention at the net from Chirag set up a smash for Satwik to target the space between Liang and Wang. A 22-shot exchange was followed a cheeky request for a medical timeout Liang, which the umpire denied flat out.
At 19-20, it was anybody’s game. Just a matter of one point. And what followed was a stunning rally. A near 40-shot exchange that had so many tws and turns, that one could fit in a mini-movie.
First, Satwik had the Chinese duo scrambling as the home pairing kept the shuttle alive moving sideways. Then Wang and Chirag were involved in taking the pace off at the net with some fine touches on display. Liang tried to power his way through from the backcourt but that didn’t work out. Then came a net cord for Wang that just threw Chirag off, even though the shuttle was still in play. But the return from Wang came at Chirag too fast and the attempted direction-change from the Mumbaikar went into the net.
The Chinese sank to their knees in joy. Chirag fell on his back in disappointment, Satwik had a smile on his face despite just losing in a heartbreaking manner because he knew it was one heck of a fight. The Indians shared a hug before exchanging pleasantries at the net with their victorious opponents.
Between the two best pairs in the world at the moment, it was a battle for the ages.

Rankireddy/Shetty 🇮🇳 clash against current world No.1s Liang/Wang 🇨🇳.#BWFWorldTour #ChinaMasters2023 pic.twitter.com/OctRpG4ZjS
— BWF (@bwfmedia) November 26, 2023
End of a memorable year
Chirag was asked after the match if they really believed they could pull it off when they were down seven match points. “You never say never,” he told BWF. “At 20-13, we didn’t have much to lose. They were under more pressure, they were just a point away. We had to win nine points in a row to stand a chance. We didn’t think too much, took our chances and got a few quick points from them. And at 19-20, it was anybody’s point, quite unlucky there. It was a good match.”
Even through all this madness, it wasn’t lost on Satwik that they were playing the top pair in the world in front of hundreds of screaming home fans.
“Hopefully more entertaining matches against them, we loved playing against Liang and Wang in China. It was a great feeling for us, didn’t matter whether we won or lost, I was having fun being on the court even though I made a few makes here and there. They have a strong attack just as we do but today they played a little bit faster than us. Nevertheless next time, we’ll take them,” Satwik signed off with a chuckle.
It brings an end to a remarkable campaign for the Indian duo as they won important titles, and ticked off a few more impressive boxes for Indian men’s doubles. “It was a fantastic year for us, whatever we wanted to do, we achieved those goals. When we started 2023, we wanted to win medals at the Asian Games, and be in the top 2 or 3 in the world. So really happy with that,” Satwik said.
Chirag added: “The Asian Games gold was the most important title of the year, far. First Super 1000, and the Asian Championships as well as becoming No.1 was important too, but definitely Asian Games doubles gold and silver in team event stands out.”
As the dust settles on 2023 for the posterboys of Indian badminton, it was a year that reinforced that they belong at the very top in a widely open men’s doubles field. But even as they fade out for a bit to rest and recharge, their eyes are trained to get better and come back stronger for 2024. Paris is what it’s all about.