HK Open: After six attempts, Satwik-Chirag storm into first final of 2025

Ending a semifinal jinx that lasted for six consecutive tournaments this year, India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, advanced to their first final of 2025 at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament on Saturday, defeating the unseeded Chinese Taipei pairing of Bing-Wei Lin and Chen Cheng Kuan, in straight games.

The World No. 9 Indian pair will now take on China’s World No. 3 pairing of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who toppled Taipei shuttlers Fang-Chih Lee and Fang-Jen Lee 21-19, 21-8.

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Seeded eighth in the tournament, Satwik and Chirag faced stiff resistance from the Chinese Taipei pair in the opening round, with the scores levelled at 3-3 and again at 6-6 before the Indians pulled ahead to 11-8 through Satwik’s powerful smashes and Chirag’s interceptions.

The Chinese Taipei pair, however, managed to bounce back and draw parity at 12-12 before the Indians used their experience to close the game comfortably.

The second game saw Chen and Lin take an early 4-2 lead, but the Indians equalised at 6-6 following a service error from the opponents. The Chinese Taipei pair briefly led 10-8 before Satwik’s smash restored parity at 12-12. The Indians then took control, extending their lead to 17-15 and eventually securing the match point when their opponents hit long.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s final is their first since winning the Asian Games gold medal in October 2023, and it comes as a huge morale booster after a year plagued by injuries, illness and personal setbacks. The duo, often hailed as pioneers of Indian men’s doubles badminton, had been struggling to regain momentum after a difficult 12 months.

Satwik, 24, missed a significant portion of the season due to a recurring back issue and a painful elbow injury. His troubles were compounded by personal tragedy when he lost his father to a cardiac arrest in February 2025. Just as he began training again, a bout of chickenpox sidelined him further. Chirag, 28, has been dealing with a persistent lower back injury, forcing them to skip several events and impacting their synergy on court.

Despite these setbacks, the pair had shown glimpses of brilliance, including a bronze medal finish at the BWF World Championships in Paris last month, making them only the third Indian pair after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to win multiple medals at the prestigious event.

Later in the day, Lakshya Sen will take on third-seeded Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the men’s singles semifinal.