China Masters: Dominant Satwik-Chirag reach men's doubles final

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put in a dominating show in the semi-final to storm into the final of the China Master 750 tournament on Saturday, 25 November. Playing in Shenzen, the Indian top-seeded duo defeated China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in straight games to enter the final of the competition.

It seemed like an easy win for Sat-Chi at first where they dominated the first game throughout to win 21-15, but the Chinese pair, who are ranked 50 in the world, hit back with some impressive shots, and kept the India duo at bay.

Satwik-Chirag were at their attacking best in the first game of the match, leading from the start. At the break, they led 11-6, and kept things clinical till the very end of the first game. The points that Sat-Chi gave away were due to



their own mistakes, hitting the net from close range.

The second game was much closer, with the Chinese players keeping things steady. Sat-Chi's ultra-aggressive approach went against them and they trailed 8-11 at the break of the second game. Coach Pullela Gopichand spoke to the duo at the break and asked them to slow down their returns at the net. The move worked and Sat-Chi were able to go ahead from 14-14.

The Chinese players saved the best for their last and showed strong defensive resilience against the smash-happy Indian pair. They were able to drag the game on but eventually gave up at 22-20. The match lasted till 50 minutes.

With the win, Sat-Chi entered their sixth final of the year and would be looking to cap off with a win on Sunday, 26 November.