China Masters 2025: Satwik-Chirag enters second final of season with win over Chia-Soh

Satwik-Chirag defeated their Malaysian opponents in just 41 minutes in the final.

A week after finishing runners-up at the Hong Kong Open, India’s top doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have now stormed into the finals of the ongoing China Masters 2025. The Indian duo defeated World No.2 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the semi-final on Saturday.

Satwik-Chirag, who climbed to world No.7 after their finals-run in Hong Kong, trailed 4-5 at the start and were still behind 10-11 in the mid-game interval of the opening game.

But once they settled in, it was magic on court. Satwik’s explosive smashes and Chirag’s clever placement flipped the script, and the Indians surged to 17-14. After 20 minutes of fight at the Shenzhen Arena, they closed the first game 21-17.

The second game was pure domination and fireworks at the Indian side of the net. After an early 3-1 lead, Satwik unleashed a series of thunderous smashes that sent the stadium into frenzy.

By the mid-game interval, the pair were comfortably ahead 11-6. Riding the momentum, they sealed the game 21-14, completing the win in just 41 minutes.

This victory improved their head-to-head against the Malaysians to 5-11 and marked their second final appearance of the year.

Also Read: Satwik-Chirag’s career in numbers: Records, stats and titles

Last week Satwik-Chirag made it to their first final of the season at Hong Kong Open, that also marked their first final since the Thailand Open in May 2024.

In Hong Kong, they suffered a heartbreak in the final, losing to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.in three games 21-19, 14-21, 17-21.

The Indian top men’s doubles pair had crushed the Chinese duo of Ren Xiang Yu and Xie Haonan in the quarter-finals to enter their seventh semi-finals of the year.

Now, Satwik-Chirag will fight for the title against the winner of the other semi-final between Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and world No.1 pair Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae of South Korea.

Earlier in the BWF Super 750 tournament, the two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu crashed out in the quarterfinals against the World No.1 An Se Young of South Korea losing 14-21, 14-21.

Lakshya Sen who also made it to his first final of the season at the Hong Kong Open last week was knocked out by the Toma Junior Popov of France in the first round.

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