Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been the saving grace for Indian badminton in 2025. The men’s doubles pair just about kept intact the country’s proud record of winning at least one medal at the World Championship since 2011. They are the only Indian entry at the BWF World Tour Finals.
The top eight in men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles make it to the year-ending event. Like last year, Sat-Chi will carry the Tricolour in the competition to be played in Hangzhou in China from December 17-21. The two-time World Championship bronze winners are ranked third in the world.
The rankings of the rest of the Indians don’t make happy reading. Lakshya Sen, who won a Super 500 title in Australia last month, is 13th in men’s singles. A former top-10 player, World Championship bronze medallist, All-England runner-up and Olympic semi-finalist, Sen has been inconsistent and thus missed out on a top-eight berth. Ayush Shetty is the next-best Indian, ranked 30th.
PV Sindhu, a former world champion, two-time Olympic medallist and runner-up at the World Tour Finals, is currently way behind the qualification mark at 19th. Youngster Unnati Hooda is making progress, but she is nowhere near qualification at 28th in the world. In women’s doubles, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are 13th, while in mixed doubles Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto are 18th.
One can say that things are looking better in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles following the arrival of a bunch of young players, but they are not yet contenders in elite events at the senior level. Sindhu, 30, is a force on the decline and the next rung is well below the standards set by her and Saina Nehwal.
This makes men’s doubles India’s only bet at the top level. Sat-Chi disappointed at the Olympics in Paris in 2024 and also struggled with injuries. They redeemed themselves by winning their second World Championship bronze in Paris and performed with renewed consistency. Their impressive run included a morale-boosting win over Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarter-finals in the French capital. The Malaysian pair was becoming a nemesis for the Indians and that was a timely win. They beat them at the China Open as well.
“My next target for them is the Super Series Finals (World Tour Finals). Of course, there are other tournaments coming up, but our main focus is that one,” Tam Kim Her, the Malaysian coach of Indian doubles teams, was quoted as saying by PTI in September. “The progress is there, everything is okay. I give credit to the boys.”
After looking like fading out last year, Satwik and Chirag have made a comeback in 2025 and emerged as the silver lining in Indian badminton. As the country’s sole representative in Hangzhou, they will carry high hopes and face the pressure of expectations. It’s a tough competition, with no margin for error, but these two are tough opponents for their rivals.
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