'Happy to Break the Jinx, Huge Title Boost Before Asiad’: Satwik-Chirag

Shenzhen: India’s star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reflected on their impressive victory in the China Masters doubles, calling it an end to a “jinx” and a “huge boost” before the Asian Games 2026.

“Playing here is always good. We have played (here) always coming back from injury. I think in 2024, after Olympics, we played here; we played the semis. Then last year we played; we weren’t in good shape, and we played finals. I think this also like after coming back from injury, I think this has been a tournament that gave us a lot of confidence,” Satwik told reporters after the win.

Satwik and Chirag have been on the court for three games for the majority of the tournament. They made a comeback after losing the first game in the final and went on to win the title. “I think today we held our nerve. We didn’t do mistakes. So that was a positive from today’s match, and we are just sticking to the game plan. We made a game plan before coming. We wanted to do that. So I think that has worked today, and we are really happy we kind of broke the jinx. Second title in 2026. We are really happy,” he added.

The Indians lacked the usual aggression in the first game and had to be pumped up by the coach at the sidelines as they mounted a comeback in the second and third games. “Yeah, in the first game I think it wasn’t lacking (aggression), but I think we were not playing the right strokes. We were playing a style which favoured them. And when we play a style which favours them, they come all guns blazing.

“You don’t really find any space to play against them because they are extremely fast and furious. So in the second game when we started, we wanted to be aggressive, but mindfully aggressive. And that’s what he was telling,” Chirag said.

Satwik unleashed his serving skills in the third game and won five points in a row to win the match. “I think it’s very rare I get five points in my service. It’s always Chirag who takes the game.

“But I think again, I think in the quarterfinals when we played with Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, I think that match gave confidence. It was a similar scenario, 17 all, we were down. I was serving then. I have practised more in the service because I was injured. When I was injured, I was also doing a lot of serves. So I think that has helped me in the last two tournaments,” Satwik said. IANS

BWF World Tour titles won by Satwik-Chirag:

China Masters Super 750 - September 2026

Singapore Open Super 750 - May 2026

Thailand Open Super 500 - May 2024

French Open Super 750 - March 2024

Korea Open Super 500 - July 2023

Indonesia Open Super 1000 - June 2023

Swiss Open Super 300 - March 2023

French Open Super 750 - October 2022

India Open Super 500 - January 2022

Thailand Open Super 500 - August 2019

Also Read: China Masters: Satwik-Chirag Win 10th BWF World Tour Title in Historic Triumph