India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, on Saturday, reached the men’s doubles finals at the 2023 China Masters Super 750 event. The top-seeded Indian pair defeated the new Chinese pairing of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 21-15, 22-20 in a match that lasted 50 minutes.
In what was the first meeting between both teams, the Indian pair took a 11-6 lead in the opening game. The pair was at their most effective when it came to attacking as they took the lead right away and continued to play clinically all the way to the finish to win it 21-15 in 20 minutes.
The second game was a much closer one as the Indian pair let the momentum slip away and the Chinese raced to a 11-8 lead at the interval in the second game. The Indian pair managed to level at 14-14 but the Chinese players kept their best for last and displayed excellent defence to stay steady in the game.
The Indian duo bounced back to close the game out at 22-20 to cruise to yet another final in what has been an excellent year for them. With titles in the Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and Swiss Super 300, the pair has a shot to win their fourth title of the year.
Thus far this year, Satwik-Chirag have emerged victorious in six of the seven semifinals.
Earlier in their campaign, the top-seeded Indian pair had eased past Indonesia’s Leo Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-16, 21-14 in 46 minutes in the quarter-finals. In the finals, they will meet the winner of the all-Chinese men’s doubles semi-final between Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi and Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.
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