CHENNAI: India shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have produced several trailblazing results over the years and they continue to be one of the benchmarks in the country. On Sunday, the doubles specialists pulled off yet yet another pathbreaking feat as they became the first from India to capture the China Masters crown. Their success highlighted their grit and their persistence as they had achieved the unprecedented feat after finishing runners-up twice in the past — in 2023 and 2025 .
The World No 5 were made to dig deep to get the win by He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu — their opponents in the final at the Shenzhen Arena. The Chinese pair showed their pace and trickery in the opening game to make the Indians sweat. But Satwik and Chirag, like they have done on several occasions in the past, produced a strong response in the second essay to go level. The deciding game was a real test of will for both the finalists. It was like a chess match but the Indians elevated their performance at a critical period to walk away as champions. After a hard-fought 70-minute contest that included some incredible smashes and mind-bending reflexes, the Indians won 11-21, 21-13, 21-17. The playing arena turned into a dance floor as Satwik put on his signature moves while Chirag, understandably overwhelmed by the occasion, took off his t-shirt and hurled it into the crowd.
More importantly, it was a victory that signalled that they're truly back, having made a comeback after Satwik's injury not so long ago. During the World Championships, their first event since comeback, they were clearly off the pace. Having spent over five hours in this campaign and having captured the title, it's a step in the right direction for the Indian duo, who will now be in a good state of mind ahead of the Asian Games.
This was incidentally their second title of the season. Earlier in May, they had captured the Singapore Open crown — also a Super 750 level event like their latest title. Given that this was just their second tournament post their comeback, Satwik is encouraged by the progress they made during the course of the tournament. "This has been a tournament that has given us a lot of confidence. Barring the first round, all the games we played were three games. Today (Sunday), we kind of held our nerves, we didn't make mistakes towards the end and that was a positive from today's match. We had made a game plan before coming and we're just looking to stick with the game plan. That has worked today and I'm really happy to break the jinx. Happy to win a second title in 2026," he said.
In the third and final game, it was anybody's game when the two sides were tied at 17-17. That's when the Indians remained ice cool to clinch five consecutive points. Satwik was the man who was serving then and he later said that he had actively worked for occasions like this. "When I was injured, I was doing a lot of service and catching (serve and follow-up shots). That has helped me in the last two tournaments. I think it's just a mental thing. You just need to catch something, serve and believe in yourself. Behind the scenes, we have had undergone a lot of training on this with the coach and we knew the opponents will target me when I'm serving," Satwik said.
Now, the Indians are hoping to repeat the feat in the upcoming Asian Games, where they are the defending champion. "It feels really special. Going into the Asiad, winning a title is definitely a huge boost. It feels whatever we are working for, we are in the right direction. We'll go back home, push ourselves to the limit, train for the next 10 days and go all guns blazing at the Asiad. We want to go out there and have some fun," Chirag said.