Hong Kong Open: Upbeat Satwik-Chirag sail to first final of season

HONG KONG — India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, finally found a breakthrough in what has been a challenging year, storming into the final of the Hong Kong Open Super 500 with a dominant straight-game victory on Saturday.

The World No. 9 duo defeated the unseeded pair from Chinese Taipei, Bing-Wei Lin and Chen Cheng Kuan, with a commanding 21-17, 21-15 win, ending a streak of six consecutive semifinal losses in 2025.

Seeded eighth in the tournament, Satwik and Chirag will now take on China’s World No. 3 pairing of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who toppled Taipei shuttlers Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee 21-19, 21-8.

Also read: Satwik-Chirag storm into Hong Kong Open semifinals

This final appearance is their first since winning the Asian Games gold medal in October 2023, and it comes as a huge morale booster after a year plagued by injuries, illness and personal setbacks. The duo, often hailed as pioneers of Indian men’s doubles, had been struggling to regain momentum after a difficult 12 months.

Satwik, 24, missed a significant portion of the season due to a recurring back issue and a painful elbow injury. His troubles were compounded by personal tragedy when he lost his father to a cardiac arrest in February 2025. Just as he began training again, a bout of chickenpox sidelined him further. Chirag, 28, has been dealing with a persistent lower back injury, forcing them to skip several events and impacting their synergy on court.

Despite these setbacks, the pair had shown glimpses of brilliance, including a bronze medal finish at the BWF World Championships, making them only the third Indian pair after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to win multiple medals at the prestigious event.

Later in the day, Lakshya Sen will take on third-seeded Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan in the men's singles semifinal.