Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the China Masters 2026 men’s doubles title, beating China’s He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu 21-11, 13-21, 21-17 in the final. They got the job done in 70 minutes and claimed their 10th BWF World Tour title. The result also maintained their unbeaten record against He and Ren, with Satwik and Chirag now leading their head-to-head 3-0.
Notably, the final initially appeared to be heading China’s way. He and Ren attacked aggressively from the outset and quickly established a 5-0 advantage. Their work around the net and strong smashes kept the Indian pair under sustained pressure. They managed to dominate the proceedings and remained in command through the opening game, reaching the interval at 11-5 before closing it out 21-11.
Satwik and Chirag struggled to find a response as He and Ren repeatedly picked out the lines, while a pair of Indian errors helped the Chinese duo finish the game in just 18 minutes. However, the momentum changed in the second game. After the Chinese pair moved 2-0 ahead, the Indians recovered to level at 3-3 and stayed within touching distance before drawing level again at 6-6.
Satwik and Chirag then established control, taking a 11-7 lead at the interval. They maintained the pressure after the restart and moved 17-11 ahead, with Chirag producing a series of effective smashes. He and Ren attempted to close the gap, but the Indians were too hot to handle as they secured the game 21-13 to force a decider.
What happened in the third round?
China once again made the faster start in the third game, moving 4-0 ahead and later opening a 7-3 advantage. The Indian pair responded with a sustained rally of points to make it 7-7. Satwik and Chirag subsequently moved ahead 9-8 and entered the final interval with a 11-9 cushion. They stretched their lead to 15-12, only for He and Ren to launch another comeback.
The Chinese pair levelled the score at 16-16 and then 17-17, leaving the title undecided late in the contest. Satwik and Chirag then produced their strongest finish, taking four consecutive points to reach 21-17. They converted their first match point to complete the comeback and add another major title to their careers.
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