Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s World Championships campaign ended in the quarter-finals as the former world No. 1 pair suffered a straight-game defeat to China’s Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.
The Indian pair went down 18-21, 9-21 in just 36 minutes. They arrived as favourites in the match, especially playing at home, but the duo struggled to find their usual attacking rhythm and were unable to maintain consistency against a Chinese pair that kept the rallies fast and flat.
The first game offered India a chance to take control. At one point, Satwik and Chirag moved ahead 15-12 and later held an 18-16 advantage. However, Liang and Wang responded with five consecutive points, taking the opening game and putting the Indians under immediate pressure.
The second game proved far more one-sided. The Chinese pair controlled the forecourt and repeatedly exposed errors from the Indian duo. Satwik and Chirag could not regain the momentum they had shown earlier, allowing Liang and Wang to close out the contest without needing a decider.
Meanwhile, the defeat came a day after Satwik and Chirag had been pushed to three games by Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy Kim Yap in the pre-quarter-finals. The Indians eventually won that match 21-23, 21-19, 21-17.
Satwik returned to World Championships after shoulder injury
Satwik’s return to competition had already been closely watched after a shoulder injury kept the pair out for more than a month. Their last completed match before the World Championships had come in May, while they withdrew from the Japan Open in June.
Now, the setback leaves India’s campaign with one significant success in the women’s doubles. Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly reached the semi-finals after defeating fourth seeds Jia Yifan and Zhang Shu Xian of China earlier on Friday.
Their victory ensured India’s run of winning at least one World Championships medal, which has continued since 2011, remained intact after PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty exited before the quarter-final stage.
For Satwik and Chirag, attention now turns to the Asian Games, where they will travel to Japan as defending champions.
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