Satwik-Chirag love China Masters – making 3rd final in 4 years; but can they win it now?

2026 has been good for them. But Azriyn and Kiong, ranked 29th, and aged 33 and 37, didn’t make it straightforward for the Indians.

As has been routine this week, the first set was pocketed without a fuss, though they started 0-5 down. The defensive blocks look seamless on days even though opponents of all rankings, ratings and resources, don’t hesitate to use the drops to make the Indians bend. Azriyn and Kiong succeeded in drawing them into criss-cross battles that basically take place on a central rectangle, and in which the Indians aren’t too shabby either. Still, it ended up luring them into the decider.

Coach Tan Kim Her, a Malaysian himself, is a good problem-solver and reads Malaysian pairs particularly well. But though Azriyn and Kiong don’t come with massive pedigree, they have the usual traits of mixing things up and not allowing opponents a free pass to attack them with steep downers. The plan was for Satwik to go on the body attack but the Malaysians didn’t always view it as dreadful and hopeless, defending gamely.

A 54-shot rally – unusual in men’s doubles – saw Azriyn and Kiong parry the Indian attack and push them for one smash or too many, but it ended with the Malaysians sending the shuttle long. These rivalries are very cordial and Chirag would even apologise for a net chord and get a high five, but the Indians didn’t seem to be troubled too much till the end of the second when they got into catch-up mode at 12-13 down, and couldn’t close out.

Satwik would later say, “It’s the story of this whole week. We have been playing the first game easily, then the second game, 15-all, 16-all. It happened against the Popovs in the second round, then quarters again. Today also the same scenario.” He didn’t seem to mind though. “It’s fine. It’s a good tournament for us on our comeback. We wanted those crucial matches before the Asian Games. We want to get that feel, that confidence. Even when we are 16, 18-all … like yesterday we were down and then we won. We want to get that kinda practice. One more final here. Shenzhen has been really special.”

Chirag reckoned that nobody really fancied getting dragged into the third, but it was good they were able to come back when down. “Glad that even after losing the second set we could bounce back in third and finish comfortably,” he said.

Like the match against the Popovs, the third set turned lopsided because the Indians had too much firepower and weren’t going to suffer too much resistance as they pushed a gear and got the job done. Azriyn and Kiong have never played a Super 750 Tour final, and the gulf in capability showed.

The question of why they haven’t won China Masters yet persists.

Last year, it was a loss to Koreans Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho in straight sets. The Korean great Seo had combined with Jin Yong and defeated the Indians in the 2024 semis. The Chinese current World champs, Liang-Wang had broken Indian hearts in 2023 with a start to finish lead in the third set of the 2023 final.

On Sunday they will need to get past the Chinese pair of He Ji Tung and Ren Xiang Yu (who have in fact reunited after the shuffle in 2024). The Indians are still smarting from a loss in the World’s and have an Asian Games campaign up ahead, though this might well be their second 2026 title after Singapore. But a Super 750 win playing a home pair in front of a home crowd might be a good time to solve the nagging mystery of China Masters.

“Go back. Recover. Wake up. See how the body feels. But we will push 100 percent,” Satwik promised.