It was so close, yet so far for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The Indian pair gave it their all, but ended as runner-up in the China Masters 2023. The former World No.1 pair lost against the current No.1 duo Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the final on Sunday, 26th November.
The scoreline in the final read 19-21, 21-18, 19-21. This is the first time that the Indian pair lose a final in the BWF Tour this year. They had earlier won the Swiss Open, Indonesia Open and Korea Open this season.
The contest began with the Chinese pair taking a 4-1 lead. With a clear attacking intent, they further took their lead to 8-3. The Indians soon gave a comeback and managed to level the scores 9-9. But the Chinese duo made it to the mid-game interval with a two-point cushion.
Post the interval, it became a closely contested affair with the Indians fighting toe-to-toe. At 19-19, Liang Wei Keng’s smash helped the Chinese get to the game point. Satwiksairaj with a net-error conceded the first game to the current World No.1 pair.
In the second game too the Chinese pair were in the lead right from the start. Trailing 7-10, the momentum soon swung in the Indians favour. With four straight points, they entered the interval with a one-point lead.
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Post the interval Chirag and Satwik continued to maintain the lead despite a good challenge from the Chinese duo. The top seeds went on to take the game into the decider.
In the third game, the Chinese pair took a 5-0 lead straightaway. They went on to enter the interval with the scores at 11-6. After the change of ends, the Indian pair began with two successive points. The Chinese pair quickly bagged five successive points to extend their lead.
A smash from Weng Chang helped them get to seven championship points. Chirag and Satwik kept their cool and saved six match points. At 19-20, after impressive rallies, it was all over for the Indians as a return from Chirag found the net. With the win, the Chinese World No.1 pair won the first China Masters title for the home country in eight years.
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