On Wednesday, India's top men's doubles team, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, cruised into the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships. Known as ‘Sat-Chi,’ the pair displayed their dominance against Australia's Zhe Hooi Choo and Ming Chuen Lim, who are ranked 156th globally. The match was a one-sided affair, ending 21-16, 21-9 in a mere 30 minutes.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships on Wednesday. ‘Sat-Chi,’ as India’s top-ranked men’s doubles combination is known, defeated the Australian pair of Zhe Hooi Choo and Ming Chuen Lim, rated world number 156. In 30 minutes, they defeated their Australian opponents 21-16, 21-9.
After dominating the Asian circuit—highlighted by their 2023 Dubai Asian Championships gold—and securing bronze in Tokyo in 2022, Satwiksairaj and Chirag are now chasing the ultimate goal: a World Championship gold. This year has been highly productive for them, sweeping three BWF World Tour titles in Switzerland, Korea, and Indonesia. Notably, their victory in Indonesia was a historic milestone, as it was the first BWF Super 1000 title won by an Indian pair.
This year, the pair has won three BWF World Tour titles: the Swiss Open, the Indonesia Open, and the Korea Open. They earned India’s first BWF Super 1000 title with their victory in Indonesia.
Simultaneously, India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the pre-quarterfinals after a convincing straight-sets win over Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun of Chinese Taipei. The 19th-ranked Indian pair outperformed the 37th-ranked opponents 21-18, 21-10 in 38 minutes. Having entered the tournament with a first-round bye, the Commonwealth Games bronze medalists are now set to face the top-seeded pair from China, Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan, in the next round.
The match started rocky for Treesa and Gayatri, who fell behind 2-5 early on. However, they regained control by rotating their attacks and prolonging the rallies, forcing their opponents into errors to take an 8-6 lead. Although the Taiwanese pair managed to level the score at 8-8, the Indians held their nerve to lead 11-9 at the interval, despite some net errors from their opponents. Following the break, Gayatri took charge at the front of the court, using sharp anticipation to push India's lead to 14-11.
While Treesa committed a few unforced errors—including a wide shot and a hit into the net—the Indian duo never let their lead slip away. They remained composed even as the Taiwanese pair fought back. After switching sides, Treesa and Gayatri maintained their momentum, at one point leading 8-5, and secured a three-point advantage by the halfway mark thanks to a powerful return of serve.
The gap widened to 14-8 after the restart. Even a service fault regarding height didn't break their rhythm; they capitalized on a series of opponent mistakes to race to 19-10. A brilliant rally ended with a forehand error from Yang at the net, giving India 10 match points, which they quickly converted when their opponents hit one more shot wide.