Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty bow out of China Masters semis

The Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out in the semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament, losing in three games to South Korea’s Jin Yong and Seo Seung Jae.

Competing in its first event since the Paris Olympics, the former world No. 1 Indian pair, which had reached the final in the last edition, couldn’t maintain the pressure in a 74-minute encounter, going down 18-21 21-14 16-21 to the unseeded duo.

Satwiksairaj today revealed he had suffered two injuries that delayed his return to competitive badminton after the Paris Olympics. “The injury was there even before the Olympics. I was dealing with two injuries — one in my back and the other in my elbow, where I had a tear,” Satwik said after the match.

“It took us some time. We thought we’d be ready for the next tournament and would send our entry, but about a week before, the injury would worsen again, so we had to withdraw. We couldn’t figure it out initially. Later, we sat down, addressed it, and now we’ve figured things out. I’m feeling good and really happy to be back on court,” he added.

Chirag echoed Satwik’s sentiments, saying they entered the tournament without high expectations but were pleased with their performance.