Aggression was the gameplan: Satwik-Chirag after winning the first match at BWF World Tour Finals

The Indian men's doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty mounted a stellar comeback to beat China's Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 12-21, 22-20, 21-14 at the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals on Wednesday.

Competing at the season ending tournament for the first time since their injury-halted campaign in 2021, Rankireddy and Shetty did not have the best of starts.

They were blown away 12-21 in what was one of the most lopsided battles in the 11 times they had faced the Chinese pair.

"We were not able to get into the rhythm in the first game," said Rankireddy after the match.

The Indians, seeded third in the competition, came out all guns blazing in the second game. They pounced on each and every opportunity that came their way to open up an 18-12 lead. Liang and Wang fought back to earn a match point, but Rankireddy-Shetty managed to force a decider.

"Second game onwards we knew we had to start on a good note and be as aggressive as possible," said Shetty.

Rankireddy added in agreement: "That [aggression] was the gameplan right from the start...No matter what be aggressive."

"It's been a while since we've played. Getting into the rhythm against top players isn't easy in the first game. The shuttle was fast in the first game and suddenly the pace dropped, so it took us a bit of time to adjust. We weren't 100% ready and once we got the touch, it was just a matter of one point, one good serve," he added.

The win, made Rankireddy and Shetty the first Indian men's doubles pair ever to win a match at the BWF World Tour Finals, despite the challenges.

"Not only proud, very proud," Shetty joked on winning just their fourth match against the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallists.

"We led 18-12 but made some silly errors. We should have closed out the second game comfortably but happy that we could finally get that second game and the match," he