New Delhi, August 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out of the BWF World Championships after losing to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in straight games in the quarterfinals at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Friday.
The two-time World Championships bronze medallists went down 18-21, 9-21 in a 36-minute contest, ending their hopes of winning a medal on home soil.
Chirag said the pair had made a strong start but struggled against the Chinese duo’s relentless, high-pressure game.
“We had a good lead, probably three-four points ahead. But we knew it’s never easy playing against them. They play a very solid high-pressure game, and the shuttle travels extremely fast,” he said after the match.
The Indian pair lost the opening game after a closely fought contest and could not maintain the same intensity in the second.
The defeat came amid concerns over Satwik’s long-standing shoulder problem. The injury had previously forced the pair to retire midway through matches at the Indonesia Open and Japan Open, although they won the Singapore Open Super 750 title.
Chirag admitted that missing out on a medal at a home World Championships was disappointing, particularly with a large home crowd backing them, but said they had given their best under the circumstances.
“Obviously it would hurt. We are playing a World Championship on our home soil. To see such a huge crowd turn up and cheer for us obviously feels sad. But in the circumstances that we came in, I think we gave it our all,” he said.
Satwik, meanwhile, said his shoulder was fine during Friday’s match and that stiffness, rather than pain, remained an issue.
“It was fine for today’s match. Yesterday it was a little bit more intense. I could recover it pretty well, so it wasn’t bothering much. There was no pain, just stiffness,” he said, adding that he was gradually regaining confidence after limited match play.
The Indian duo will now shift focus to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya next month.
“The Asian Games is a big event. We want to go back to train, look at the loopholes that we have, correct them and get better as we look forward to the Asian Games,” Chirag said.
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