Chirag-Satwik suffers a semi-final exit at China Open 2025

Changzhou [China], July 26 (ANI): India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a semi-final exit after losing in the final four of the men's doubles event at the BWF Super 1000 China Open 2025 badminton tournament on Saturday against two-time Olympic bronze medallists Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia of Malaysia, according to Olympics.com.
After failing to produce much resistance in the first game, Satwik-Chirag, 12th in the men's doubles badminton rankings, put up a fight in the second but couldn't prevent a 21-13, 21-17 defeat in 42 minutes.
Satwik-Chirag's ouster in the semi-finals brought an end to India's campaign at the BWF Super 1000 tournament.
This was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's 11th defeat in 14 matches against world No. 2 Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia. In the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Indian badminton duo had also fallen to the Malaysian combination.
This is the fourth time that Satwik-Chirag have failed to advance beyond the final four in the 2025 badminton season. Prior to this, they reached the semifinals of the India, Singapore, and Malaysia Opens earlier this year.
Earlier, Rankireddy and Shetty cruised into the men's doubles semi-finals at the BWF Super 1000 China Open 2025 with a straight-games win over Malaysia's Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo.
The Indian pair delivered a dominant performance at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, taking the match 21-18, 21-14 in just 40 minutes. This marks their fourth semi-final appearance of the season, following strong runs at the India, Singapore, and Malaysia Opens.
After a sharp start in the first game, Satwik and Chirag held off a late Malaysian surge to clinch it 21-18. In the second, they pulled away from a tight 15-14 lead with six unanswered points to seal the win. (ANI)