For about the first 10 minutes of the men’s doubles semifinal at the BWF World Championships on Saturday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty couldn’t have dreamt of a much better start against Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi than the scoreline they had produced. The Indians had taken a commanding 11-5 lead into the mid-game interval of the opener, and coach Tan Kim Her walked up to them and didn’t have to say much.
His tone was peaceful, his words measured. Apart from a few minor tactical inputs, he told Satwik and Chirag just to organise themselves better, attack more from the side-by-side stance instead of back-and-front. But it didn’t take long for Chen and Liu to cause flutters in the Indian camp after that coaching break. They stormed back into the match to wipe out Satwik-Chirag’s lead.
Then, at 13-13, came a pivotal moment. Chen had the serve. With one fluid motion, he hit a flick serve, the shuttle arching over the head of Chirag into the back horizon. The Indian had to backpedal at pace, and while he managed to keep the shuttle in play, he was scrambling for position and Chen hit a clever winner to the backcourt with a backhand drive. The Chinese duo had a big smile. Liu was jumping, patting his partner on the back, high-fiving each other. It wasn’t just the usual celebration of a point. It was the joy of executing a perfect plan. It seemed, at the moment, it all clicked together for them as they took the lead for the first time in the match at 14-13.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in action. (Photo Credits: Badminton Photo)
The flick serve to cause the scrambling of the Indians’ defence was the highlight of their performance as the world No 11 duo from China pulled off an impressive 21-19, 18-21, 21-12 win in 67 minutes to end Satwik-Chirag’s dreams of becoming the first doubles World Champions from the country.
There was a funny moment at 14-14 in the opening game as well as the broadcast showed the statistic for the longest rally of the match at that point. 16 shots. It said it all. The game was fast and furious, as men’s doubles tend to be, and a lot of it was being played out in the first three shots: the serves, therefore, became all too important for both sides. It is here that the Chinese pair started taking control. The flick serve wasn’t used too frequently at this stage. The rally for game point in the opener was a stunning exhibition of men’s doubles badminton from both pairs, as they engaged in a furious flat exchange, with the Indians showing solid defence, before Chen got the height to put away a booming smash and walked off the court with a swagger. 21-19.
Finals up for grabs as Chen/Liu 🇨🇳 take on Rankireddy/Shetty 🇮🇳. #BWFWorldChampionships #Paris2025 pic.twitter.com/u3vV4y9QJh
— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 31, 2025
The second game saw the Indians fight back, and they didn’t trail at any point. However, there were signs towards the backend that the nerves were starting to get the better of them. There was a point at 14-11 when it was Liu – soon to become the Most Valuable Player of the night – who used the flick serve that had Chirag fall flat on his backside on the court. In that rally, Chirag managed to recover well enough to get back up, take charge at the net, yell “maar!” as he set up a signature backcourt smash for Satwik. But the flick serve had once again caused panic to the Indian defence. Back-to-back flick serves from Chen saw India’s lead go from 16-11 to 16-15.
A 32-shot rally to set up game points for the Indians offered up hopes of a definitive change in momentum. Chirag had endured a nervous few points during the Chinese comeback but he stepped up his shot quality just in time. In a lovely flat exchange from all four players, Chirag’s racket-head changed the course of the point with a flat push; he came forward and put the shuttle away. The fight back had begun. Or so it seemed.
What followed at the start of the third game was scarcely believable. At 3-0, Liu hit a flick serve to Satwik, and then closed the rally with a sensational backhand smash winner while suspended mid-air. At 6-0, another flick serve, this time to Chirag, who was caught off balance at the baseline after the return and turned around to his coaches with a frustrated look. In the blink of an eye, the Indians were down 0-9. And try as they might, it is not a position one comes back from, especially in the semifinals of a World Championships. At the change of ends, down 3-11, coach Tan said in the interval: “Be ready for return, they are just going flick, flick, flick.” “Yeah, a lot of flicks…” Satwik agreed.
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They did manage to find some rhythm in the backend but by then it was too late as the Chinese duo romped home. “We didn’t really get any rhythm (in the third game),” Chirag told BWF after the match. “I think we didn’t start off that well. We gave away very easy points. They were also serving quite well. But I think we should have been a little smarter. We could have made a few changes. Not really rush into the service because they were serving quite deep. But yeah, credit to them that they could put us out of place.”
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. (Photo Credits: Badminton Photo)
Satwik too credited Liu – who played like a man possessed at the start of the decider when he won 8 straight points on his serve. “We played really well but only in patches. Then again in the third game, I think he got a good feeling. It’s all a matter of confidence, how mentally strong you are. Start of the third game, that stretch cost us,” Satwik said.
And so Satwik-Chirag return with a second bronze at the World Championships – a medal that should give them plenty of joy, and relief, after all that they have gone through in the past year, as well as pride in beating two of the pairs on the way that have caused them heartache. But also, it leaves them with enough lessons to work on, improve and stay hungry for the bigger prizes to come.
