Only Plan A, No Plan B: How Satwik-Chirag ended their China Masters jinx

Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty revealed that they don’t rely on a backup plan when entering the badminton court. Instead, the Indian stars prefer to trust their natural game while adjusting their approach to deal with the specific challenges presented by different opponents, a strategy that paid off in their historic triumph at the China Masters.

World No. 5 men’s doubles pair, having previously finished second tournament years 2023 and 2025he said their success comes from finding the right balance between playing to their strengths and making tactical adjustments when needed.

“It’s always plan A, there’s no plan B for us. It always depends on the opponents. The Chinese want to play a fast game. If you play the Malaysians and Indonesians, they don’t attack,” Satwik said during a virtual interaction on Monday as quoted by PTI.

Satwik and Chirag also pointed to their improved fitness as a major factor behind their recent success. The duo endured and a disappointing campaign at the BWF World Championships but they bounced back strongly to produce one of their best performances of the season in China.

The Indian pair recovered from a slow start in Sunday’s final against China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu to win 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 to lift their maiden China Masters title. The win also marked their second BWF World Tour title of the season.

“We were much better physically after the World Cup. That was the main difference,” Satwik said.

Chirag added that the tough run to the final played an important role in their preparation. Having completed several physically demanding matches during the tournament, the Indian duo felt better equipped both physically and mentally to compete for the title.

“When we played five matches at the China Open, we played three matches apart from the first round. That was good,” Chirag said.

The landmark win was their 10th BWF World Tour title and comes as a timely confidence boost for Satwik and Chirag ahead of their title defense at the Asian Games later this month.

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Published on:

07 Sep 2026 21:49 IST