BWF World C'ships: How Liang-Wang dismantled Satwik-Chirag in quarter-finals

New Delhi: The reigning bronze medalist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out, losing to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China at the BWF World Championships in the men's doubles quarter-finals on Friday.

The duo couldn't offer a fight against the world No. 3 Chinese pair and went down 18-21, 9-21 in straight games to crash out.

It marked the 10th defeat for Satwik and Chirag against Liang and Wang in their 14th meeting, with the Indians yet to find a solution to their world-class rally game of flat exchanges.

"The first game was really good; we were even leading up to the 18-point mark. I think the game plan we had set was working really well. However, after we lost that game, they came back much stronger in the second game," said Chirag after the match.

Satwik-Chirag's loss means that India will now have only one representation in the semi-finals, with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand assuring themselves of a medal in women's doubles in an unexpected result.

A 'mismatch' in New Delhi

There were a lot of doubts about Satwik and Chirag pre-tournament as they were returning after a month because of the long-running shoulder injury of Satwik. 

Even the day before the tournament, Satwik had not attempted many smashes on the practice ground because of the same.

"It’s been a long time. I’m just managing things on my own. Sometimes I feel really good, but the next day I feel very stiff or just terrible; so, it’s kind of complicated," said Satwik.

"I just need to manage myself and play; I’ve had a good six weeks of rehab and strength training. So, it’s difficult to recover and play again, but today I’m feeling pretty good—so it’s a good sign for me, making a comeback like this," he added.

Alongside that, the duo had to wait three days for their first match of the tournament, while others had already played one or two matches and had adjusted to the conditions.

Today, it was just their second match of the tournament, and that too against the Olympic silver medalist pair, who had a very good record against them.

The start of the match was also very cagey, with both pairs making several unforced errors, including multiple service errors. The Indian pair entered the first mid-game interval with a slight lead at 10-11.

Post the break, Satwik-Chirag started being more aggressive, finding some better winners on the net despite some solid defence from the Chinese and gained an 18-16 lead.

However, the Chinese kept the flat exchanges going, and the errors crept in from Chirag, and they lost their advantage, losing five points on the trot and conceding the game.

"I mean, we weren't expecting that because they always want the block and get that lift. Based on the match video analysis we watched, they mostly play a lifting game; they are quite good at that, but today they were just pushing the shuttle constantly," reflected Satwik on how they failed to judge the game plan of the Chinese shuttlers.

The Chinese started the second game with the same strategy, troubling the Indians on flat exchanges, and Satwik and Chirag continued to err on the net, trailing 5-11.

The Indian pair could not find any answers to their flat game and went down 9-17, and in the end, they lost the final four points, losing 9-17.