India's dazzling duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted history on September 6 as they sealed the China Masters Super 2026 title. Satwiksairaj-Chirag came from a game behind to gun down the home favourite Chinese pair of He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu with a scoreline of 11-21, 21-13 21-17. With this they became the first-ever Indian duo to clinch China Masters crown.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag taste China Masters title glory
Having already clinched the Singapore Open Super 750 title and ended as finalists at the Thailand Open Super 500, the Indian duo secured their second piece of silverware this season.
The Chinese combination of He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu—fresh off a bronze-medal finish at the Badminton Asia Championships, asserted early dominance by storming to a 5-0 lead in the opening game, holding off the Indians to comfortably secure the set.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag turn the table on home favourite Chinese duo
Satwiksairaj and Chirag faced an early deficit in the second game before restoring parity at 6-6. A crucial three-point surge shifted the momentum in their favor, allowing the fourth seeds to take an 11-7 cushion into the mid-game break. While the Asian Championships bronze medallists mounted a late push, the Indian pair held firm, reeling off the last four points to force a rubber match.
The deciding game started on a familiar note as Satwik and Chirag conceded the first four points, forcing them into another chase. They clawed back to level at 7-7, but He and Ren managed to retain a narrow 11-9 buffer at the change of ends.
With the contest hanging in the balance at 17-16 in favor of the Chinese pair, the Indians delivered a flawless late surge. Satwik and Chirag reeled off five unanswered points—first leveling at 17-17 before claiming their very first lead of the set—to seal the game and the championship.
The comeback win maintained Satwik and Chirag's flawless head-to-head record against He and Ren, extending their streak to 3-0 following earlier victories at the 2023 China Masters and 2024 Malaysia Open.
The triumph represents the pair's fourth BWF Super 750 title, adding to their previous French Open crowns in 2022 and 2024 alongside their Singapore Open win earlier in the season. Up next, the star duo will head to Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, for the Asian Games starting September 19.