Star Indian badminton players Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced a tough battle against the Chinese duo Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the men's doubles final of the China Masters on November 26.
Despite losing the first game 19-21, the Indian champions staged an impressive comeback in the second game, securing a 21-18 victory. In a valiant effort to turn the tide, they fought back from being down 1-8 in the deciding game but ultimately lost the title with a score of 19-21 in a thrilling one-hour, 11-minute battle.
The Indian duo was on the brink of securing their second BWF Super 750 title as they stepped onto the court. However, the world's top-ranked pair, Liang and Wang seized the advantage by convincingly winning the first game.
Despite this setback, the Indian pair, who are gold medallists at the Hangzhou Asian Games, fought back strongly, clinching the second game and pushing the final to the decider.
However, the Chinese maintained their composure and secured victory, resisting another impressive comeback attempt from the former world-number-one Indian pair.
While the Chinese duo of Liang and Wang held the advantage in their head-to-head record, the Indian pair had previously won their recent encounters in straight games.
The renowned Indian duo of Satwik and Chirag delivered an impressive performance on November 25, defeating the Chinese duo of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu to progress to the men's doubles final at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament in Shenzhen.
The former world No. 1 Indian duo secured a victory with a score of 21-15, 22-20 against the recently formed Chinese pair of He and Ren.
In a remarkable year, Satwik and Chirag have emerged victorious in the Badminton Asian Championships, Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and Swiss Super 300, and clinched the gold medal at the Asian Games.
The BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour comprises six levels: the World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300 tournaments. Additionally, the BWF Tour Super 100 level contributes to players' rankings.
These tournaments provide varying amounts of ranking points and prize money. The Super 1000 level offers the highest points and prize pool among them.
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