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New Delhi: India’s men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fell just short of reaching the final of the 2025 BWF World Championships in Paris but walked away with a hard-earned bronze medal after a gripping semifinal on Saturday.
The third-seeded duo lost to China’s young combination of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in three games. In a contest that stretched for over an hour inside the Adidas Arena, they won by a scoreline of 19-21, 21-18, 12-21. It was their second medal at the prestigious event after winning bronze at the 2022 edition in Tokyo.
This was only the second career meeting between the two pairs. The first, at the 2024 Thailand Open final, had gone India’s way in straight games but on Saturday, Yang and Yi produced a resilient performance to flip the script and deny Satwik-Chirag a maiden final berth at the Worlds.
The Indians looked sharp in the opening game and were racing to an 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval with some commanding smashes and quick net play but the Chinese duo refused to let them win easily. Using steady defense and sharp counters, they closed the gap and levelled at 14-all before snatching the game 21-19 on their third game point.
Satwik-Chirag regrouped in the second game, keeping their noses in front for most of the exchanges. They were once again leading 11-9 at the break and later stretched it to 16-11. Yet the Chinese, mixing in flick serves and forcing errors, clawed back to 16-all. It took all of the Indians’ composure to hold off the surge and seal the second game 21-18, forcing a decider.
However, momentum deserted the Indian camp in the third game. A flurry of mistakes and nerves allowed Chen and Liu to storm to a 9-0 lead. By the interval, the Chinese were cruising at 11-3 and they never looked back. The Indians tried to rally but the deficit was too steep. Chen and Liu wrapped up the match 21-12 to advance to Sunday’s final against Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae.
For Satwik and Chirag, the campaign still ends on a positive note with another World Championships medal in their collection. It may not have been the color they wanted but the duo’s consistency at the sport’s highest level continues to underline their status as one of the top pairs in the game.
