India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty finished runners-up at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 after falling to China’s Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in a gripping final on Sunday.
The world No. 9 duo, who claimed a second consecutive World Championships bronze last month, let slip a one-game lead before going down 21-19, 14-21, 17-21 in a tense 61-minute battle against the sixth-ranked Chinese pair.
It was Satwik and Chirag’s first final appearance in 16 months since their Thailand Open triumph, but the loss ended their flawless streak in Super 500 finals, having won all four previous appearances.
Despite reaching six semifinals this season, the Indians now trail Liang and Wang 3-7 in head-to-head meetings, though they had beaten them at the recent World Championships in Paris.
The Indians began brightly, snatching the opening game with a precision serve from Chirag after a neck-and-neck contest.
But the Chinese roared back in the second, riding Wang’s power play and forcing errors from the Indian pair to level the match.
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In the decider, Liang and Wang raced to an 11-2 lead, capitalising on coordination lapses from Satwik and Chirag.
Although the Indians mounted a late rally, saving three match points to close in at 17-20, a mistimed return handed the Chinese the title.
Later in the evening, India’s Lakshya Sen was slated to contest the men’s singles final against China’s Li Shi Feng at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
