Hong Kong
Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fell short of winning their first title of 2025, losing a hard-fought men’s doubles final at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday. The eighth-seeded pair was beaten by China’s sixth-seeded duo, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, in three close games: 21-19, 14-21, 17-21.
This was Satwik and Chirag’s first final of the year after breaking a streak of six semifinal losses. They had reached the final with a solid straight-sets win over Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing in the semifinal.
The match started with both sides exchanging powerful smashes and clever net play. The Indian duo took the first game 21-19 with a strong late push. However, in the second game, the Chinese pair bounced back, maintaining control and winning it 21-14.
In the decider, Satwik and Chirag started slowly and quickly fell behind 0-4. Despite a late comeback attempt that closed the gap to 17-20, the Chinese pair held firm to win the final game 21-17 and claim the title.
The Indian pair will now look ahead to upcoming tournaments to break their title drought.