The destructive Indian men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty smashed their way past their nemeses, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, in straight games – 21-12 , 21-19 – in their World Championship quarterfinal at the Adidas Arena in Paris.
The same venue had brought heartbreak for the Indian pair a year ago, when the Malaysians handed Satwik-Chirag a quarterfinal defeat to crush India’s hope of winning a badminton medal at the Paris Olympics.
“It was a rematch of sorts from the Olympics, and I think we finally got some redemption,” said Chirag after the victory. “It was the same court, same arena. A year back exactly, Olympics, and now, World Championships. We’ve always had some really tough battles. At the biggest of events. It’s always a pleasure playing against them.”
This special quarterfinal victory not only helped Satwik-Chirag avenge their Olympics loss, but also took them into the semi-final and confirmed India’s first medal at the BWF World Championship 2025. It helped them break a long-standing curse of being beaten by the Malaysian pair at crucial stages.
“In the second game, even when we were leading, I kept telling myself that don’t rush, just play one point at a time,” said Satwik. “Because against them, it’s never easy. We’ve played so many close matches before.
“I knew they would fight back, but at the same time, I also felt that we are in control. I was telling myself that no need to panic, just stick to our game. Since the first match, our focus was concentrating on ourselves, not the opponents. And today, it worked really well.”
This marks the Indian pair’s second medal at the World Championships, after they secured a bronze in 2022.
The Brothers of Destruction will next face the World No. 11 pair, Liu Yi and Chen Bo Yang of China, in the semi-final. They met each other last in the Thailand Open S500 final in 2024 where the Indians emerged victorious. That was also their last title.
Liu-Chen entered the World Championship as underdogs, but have been impressive in making it into the last four.
Talking about the challenge they pose, Chirag said, “We’re playing them in the semis. They’re not underdogs anymore. Just like any other match that we played in this tournament. Take it one match at a time. They are a good, formidable pair. We played against them before.”
The duo will relax, watch some movies and have some fun to freshen their mood and prepare for the semi-final clash.
“We go back, eat dinner, relax,” said Satwik. “Just not focus so much on badminton. Maybe we watch a movie. Tomorrow, when we wake up, then we again start our routine.”