Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty overcame the Chinese duo of Ren Xiang Yu and Xie Haonan in straight games on Friday to enter the China Masters semifinals.
The Indians beat their opponents 21-14, 21-14 in a quarterfinal clash which lasted 37 mintues at the Shenzhen Arena.
Rankireddy and Shetty got off to a flying start, unleashing a flurry of smashes to race to a 7-0 lead. A couple of errors allowed the Chinese to close in at 3-8, but the Indians maintained their rhythm to enter the interval with an 11-5 advantage.
While Ren and Xie attempted to change the pace with quick flat rallies and front-court play, the Indians remained sharp and aggressive. Shetty’s flick serve made it 13-7, and another intense rally ended with the Chinese hitting wide to give India a 17-10 lead. A sharp body attack and a precise toss saw the Indians surge ahead, and they pocketed the opening game after converting their second game point.
The second game was a closer affair in the early exchanges, with both pairs level at 7-7. However, the Indians pulled away to lead 11-9 at the mid-game interval courtesy of disciplined net play and sharp smashes.
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After the break, Rankireddy and Shetty upped the ante, with Shetty firing two consecutive smashes to make it 19-13. They sealed the match after converting their first match point with another aggressive stroke.
“The confidence keeps going up. We felt pretty comfortable over there. It’s so good to play back-to-back, freely without any niggles. We had niggles but it’s not so major. I’m really happy with the way we played today,” Rankireddy said after the match.
This will be the duo’s seventh semifinal appearance in this year. It will play familiar foes in Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooh Yik in the last four.
Days ago, Rankireddy and Shetty played in their first final of the year at the Hong Kong Open but lost 21-19, 14-21, 17-21 to China’s Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in a tense 61-minute clash.
“I think once we play a final, we keep playing finals. It’s been a lot of semifinals but finally a final last week. Hopefully [we will make the top of the podium this time],” Shetty added.
Prior to the Hong Kong tournament, the Indians clinched their second bronze medal at the World Championships.
Published on Sep 19, 2025
