Satwik-Chirag Exact Revenge, Surge Into China Masters Final with Dominating Win Over Chia-Soh

India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty hammered Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to storm into the final of the China Masters on Saturday, September 20. Satwik and Chirag dominated the proceedings to finish the match in straight games in just 41 minutes. The Indian duo won 21-17, 21-14.

This was the second time inside three weeks that Satwik-Chirag met Chia and Soh in the badminton circuit. The two pairs had met each other in the BWF World Championships as well, where Satwik and Chirag had hammered the duo in the quarter-final fixture.

There is history between Satwik-Chirag and Chia-Soh. The Indian pair were knocked out of the Paris Olympics 2024 after suffering a terrible day against the Malaysian duo. They struggled against the duo earlier this season as well, losing in the Singapore and China Open.

However, as they slowly found form in the BWF World Championships, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won in straight games against the Malaysian duo, clinching their second medal in the tournament, and now have breezed past them in the semi-final of the China Masters, entering their second finals in a row.

On Saturday, Satwik-Chirag showed chemistry to slowly work away their opponents. Some exceptional defence from the Indian duo forced Chia/Soh into silly errors as the game progressed.

Both Satwik and Chirag took their opportunities with the smashes, and with Chia and Soh not in top form, their returns landed outside the court. Whenever Chia and Soh tried to put pressure with smashes, they found the staunch defence of Satwik-Chirag waiting for them.

That watertight defence wore the Malaysians down, and as the match progressed, they grew increasingly frustrated. After winning the first game of the match 21-17, the Indian duo dominated in the second game as well, finishing the match very quickly with a scoreline of 21-14.

The Indian pair will now face the World No. 1 Korean pair of Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. The pairs have met only once in the circuit — in the Malaysia Open 2025, where the Indians were outclassed in straight games.