Satwik-Chirag vs Liang-Wang Live Score, Men's Doubles BWF World Tour Finals 2025 Semifinal LIVE Score Online: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty face China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the semis. (BWF / BadmintonPhoto)Satwik-Chirag vs Liang-Wang, Men’s Doubles BWF World Tour Finals 2025 Semifinal: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty saw their impressive run at the BWF World Tour Finals 2025 come to an end in the semi-finals, going down 21-10, 17-21, 15-21 to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The Indian pair started strongly, taking the opening game in commanding fashion, but the Chinese duo turned the contest around in the latter stages.
This is the second time Satwik-Chirag were facing Liang-Wang this week in Hangzhou, as the two pairs were placed in the same group – the Group of Death. On Wednesday, the Indians overcame a poor start, where they looked out of sorts in Game 1, to defeat the Paris Olympics silver medallists in three games. It was a reversal on Saturday in the semifinals. Overall, in 12 meetings, SatChi now trail Liang-Wang 4-8.
Earlier Satwik-Chirag, no strangers to creating history in their discipline, had become the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach the semi-finals of the prestigious season-ending event. The World No. 3 pairing had to win at least one game against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik on Friday to clinch their spot in the semifinals. SatChi recovered from the loss of the opening game to register a three-game victory, winning the second after a right royal intense battle and the third games with authority to finish as Group B toppers. Once the Indians won the second game and assured a place in the semifinals, Chia-Soh didn’t quite have the fuel in their tanks to push for the win in the decider. The win helped Satwik-Chirag narrow the head-to-head down to 6-11 against their Malaysian nemeses. Here’s how the match panned out, as reported by Shivani Naik.
Rollercoaster year comes to a close for Satwik-Chirag. First half defined by niggles and personal setback with Satwik losing his father. Second half, much more consistent, superb Worlds bronze, fine run at World Tour Finals & back to world No 3.
No title, but overall positive 2025. Still India's best.
Repeat of World Championships semis, but against a different Chinese pair. Satwik-Chirag pay the price for a poor start to Game 3. They are aware that they need to get better at service situations, something they admitted at the start of this week. It has just been made clear once more today.
But end of another fine season for them despite all the challenges they faced. No title to show for it but plenty of consistent deep runs.
And it is Liang-Wang who reverse the result from Wednesday, a thrilling match at times, but far too many mistakes from the Indians who pay the price for a poor start to the decider again.
Two match points saved by the Indians as Chirag goes for a flick serve again.
Satwik's low lift goes long and nine match points for the Chinese.
One of those saved after a length rally (started with a flick serve again by the way). A low intensity rally that one.
Just one of those were everything is going Chinese way. Net cords. Flick serves. Catching the lines.
Satwik-Chirag challenge this crossvourt net call and it has caught the sideline.
The Indians have the serve back at 10-19... now or never. Another point for the Indians, needed more of this early on in the decider though... the crowd just starting to get a little anxious.
Oh dear, that's a bad miss on the flat forehand from Satwik in a rally where the Indians had the upper hand.
A flick serve dealt with this time but the match has slipped away nbig time for Satwik-Chirag.
A loose shot from Liang (who is prone to lapses of concentration, mind you) and the Indians make it 8-17. Make it 9-17 as Chirag goes for a flick serve.
Can they go on a little roll here the Indians?
Just error after error on defence from the Indians at this point. 2-12.
Another flick serve from Liang, though Satwik is able to return this, the Indians end up losing the point.
Another completely unforced error from Satwik now, and the game rhythm has completely evaporated for the Indians. 2-14. Remarkable turnaround.
Satwik finally nails a smash that is not defended by Liang and it is some respite. Doesn't last long. Chirag makes a serve error. "It's all gone horribly wrong for the Indian pair," says Gill Clark,
HUGE CHALLENGE FOR THE INDIANS.
Satwik completely mishits a downward smash from front court. It's a massive lead for Liang-Wang at the final change of ends. Need a miracle from this point.
The flick serve from Liang again. Causing mayhem in the Indian defence. 9-2.
Low serve but this is a flat exchange that the Indians never had any control over. 10-2.
Blistering stuff from the home pair.
Wang has completely taken charge of the front court here, he is getting to the shuttle so early and that is giving barely any time for the Indians to react.
The Chinese are not happy with Chirag calling for the court to be mopped and the referee is not conceding to his request. The home fans not happy either.
Liang with a flick serve this time and Chirag nets it.
Steen: "The Indians have to do something different here, once again in that rally, they were lured into lifting under pressure"
Shades of the World Championships semifinal, albeit against a different Chinese pair though. Satwik-Chirag have made a less than ideal start to the third game. Liang destroys another shuttle with a powerful smash after a great defensive effort from Satwik-Chirag to stay in the point early on despite a net. cord. Oh dear, another HUGE SMASH from Liang and Satwik's backhand block is short.
What a net shot from Wang! That is stunning close control. It kisses the top of the tape. Chirag actually does well to get some distance on the lift but Liang goes full Liang to destroy the shuttle.
A much tighter 2nd game, and it is Liang-Wang who find their A-game after a poor start. Satwik-Chirag didn't actually do much wrong there. Wang especially superb at the moment. "The Indians need to keep the shuttle away from Wang, he is on fire," says Steen Pedersen.
"Wang is flicking a lot, be ready for the flick," coach Tan reminds his wards.
Here's how Game 2 panned out.
The home fans roar as this semifinal goes into a decider. Much tighter than the opening game, and it is largely down to the Chinese dialling it up a couple of notches on their attacks, and getting their serves right more often than not. Not much Satwik-Chirag did wrong actually, sometimes the opponents just play better.
WOW. Superb deception from Satwik, to change the racket head at the last moment, something we usually see in a service return and not mid-rally. And Chirag puts it away. 17-19.
But Chirag's defensive lift now sails long as Liang-Wang have three game points.
Oh just wide. Satwik does well in the service situation but the Indians can't maintain the pressure on the rally. Chirag had a little slip on the backcourt, that didn't help. A flick serve from Wang, and this time the Indians do well to kill the point, a rare rally in second game where the Indians were able to use their attacking weapons.
That rally for 16-18, at 22 shots, is the longest of the match! Sums it up really.
Brilliant defensive hustle from Chirag, one lovely diving lift. But he can't recover quickly enough to deal with the body smash after that. 17-15 for the Chinese.
"That's a mixed doubles shot," remarks Steen Pedersen on air as Chirag nails a lovely flat forehand drive. It is something Satwik said they had been working on at the start of the year.
WOW! WHAT A SLICE OF LUCK! OOr well-earned depends on who you ask. Chirag's reflex body defence kisses the top of the tape and falls flat on the other side of the net. We are back level!
The Chinese sneak ahead at 16-15 now. SUPER BATTLE.
A 2-point lead for Chinese as Satwik makes a return of serve error off Liang. This could be a little costly but still very close.
Oh dear, nerves from the Indians? Chirag with a hugely indecisive return decision at the backcourt, he is usually so good in being decisive there. Three points lead for Liang-Wang.
And then a little bit of relief for SatChi as Liang makes a wild error too.
Great defense but also concscious changes of direction in their blocks, as Satwik-Chirag get the serve back right after the interval. Taking the pace off nicely then Chirag pounced at a loose shuttle.
And another brilliant point by the Indians to make it 11-11, Chirag once more with the kill from the front court.
Superb movement and anticipation from Wang in the front court, almost Sukamuljo-esque.
But the Indians get the serve back at 9-10. So tight here.
Liang-Wang go into the interval with a 11-9 lead though after a little bit of miscommunication in defence for the Indians.
Wonderful rally from all four players. Satwik and Chirag defend superbly from midcourt but Liang's power eventually comes through in that exchange. The Chinese sneak ahead by 2 points now.
As we said, don't read too much into that opening game scoreline, we have been here already this week.
Oh Liang, whose serve often troubled the Indians in the past, with a gift as he makes a fault. 8-9.
Gill Clark observes that Liang-Wang have a favoured position on court with Liang back and Wang front but the Indians have developed their games nicely now so that both Chirag and Satwik are comfortable playing front and back. It's been key to their resurgence this year, indeed. And just like that we are back level at 7-7.
A good service return from Chirag but it is not enough to give the Indians the upper hand in the rally, Satwik's lift sails wide just on the sheer power he had to deal with on defence. A brilliant third shot from Wang after his serve and the Chinese are up ahead now 6-3. Another good serve, 7-3.
SatChi get the serve back after a good service return and booming smash by Satwik.
A tight start to the second game, but the Chinese are definitely upped the ante here. Liang's backcourt prowess shining through in these early exchanges. The Indians having to react a bit more than dictate.
Here's how the opening game panned out, with 9 straight points for the Indians. But a cautionary note, towards the end of the opening game, the Chinese didn't really go all out. So the margin is perhaps a bit exaggerated by that.
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WOW. That is an utterly dominant opening game from Satwik-Chirag. Blistering attacks. 21-10. (But it was the reverse earlier in this week and that match, the Indians bounced back from a poor start, so disclaimer etc....)
One of the slower rallies by men's doubles standards, one of the longer ones too in this match so far, but eventually Wang makes A WILD ERROR. 10 game points for the Indians , wow.
Satwik with A SUPERB THIRD SHOT after his serve, reads the Liang return and puts it away with venom. 17-10.
Make that 18-10, Chirag nails a smash between Liang-Wang.
Ah, there is that familiar foe in their own game. Chirag Shetty called for fault on service, too high. It's an area that keeps bothering the tall Indians. 10-12. But the Indians get the serve right back with excellent side-to-side movement and all-out attack. A brilliant low serve from Satwik is unreturned. The Indians are now opening up a 6-point lead after another blistering attacking point.
Brilliant return of serve from Wang, floors Chirag. Right out of the interval, a quick point for the Chinese. Great direction change as he read Satwik's serve and caught Chirag off guard. A brilliant crosscourt drop from Liang next up as they make it 2 points in a row.
Another brilliantly constructed point by the Indians, moving the Chinese side-to-side on defence, engaging in fast shots.
The Indians take a 11-6 lead at the interval on a superb run from 3-5. A sequence of 8 points out of 9 rallies.
Some good defence from Chirag but the Chinese power comes through eventually as they end a run of four straight points for SatChi. This is already building up nicely. Another lovely rally follows, this time some nice midcourt defence from Satwik to keep the rally going and eventually the Chinese make the error. The Indians keeping their noses ahead as Satwik nails a kill at the net. Plan B kicking in there.
Satwik at the backcourt does his thing to make it 4-5! Big smash, the return goes wide. The Indians level it up shortly after at 5-5. The Indians then sneak ahead after a lovely rally going with a couple of good body attacks. It's a 7-5 lead now for the Indians as Satwik nails a good crosscourt overhead smash to Wang's backhand side.
Good serve from Satwik, sets up a nice point for the Indians as Chirag uses his long reach at the front court to kill the shuttle. The Indians finding their footing now.
Flick serve from Liang, and it puts Indians on the backfoot right away. The Chinese go allout attack and clinch that rally for a 4-1 lead.
We are underway in Hangzhou.
Satwik-Chirag opt for receiving, their usual call, changing from yesterday though.
Chinese dup start strongly, with a 2-0 win. But Satwik-Chirag get on the board when Liang pushes too hard at a flat drive.
Here's a look at the Head-to-Head
Kim-Seo reiterate their status as the best men's doubles pair in the world, breezing through the semifinal. Time for Satwik-Chirag vs Liang-Wang
Chirag told The Indian Express after World Championships bronze:
"It’s been a very difficult year. There’s a lot more than meets the eye. There are plenty of things that people don’t see. We both are very disappointed because, yes, we could have played a final. But with the way things have been over the past year, winning a medal… we wouldn’t have even thought of it. To come here with the draw that we had, it was quite a tough draw, to be honest, right from the first day itself. It was never easy to beat pairs we’ve not had a comfortable time with, at a major event and come out there and beat them and come here and win a medal.. it’s definitely great what we’ve been able to do. Wouldn’t say we are entirely happy. But when I look back over the year that we’ve had, I think it’s a very special medal."
Satwik told The Indian Express after World Championships bronze:
"When Tan coach came, the target was this year’s All England. Then the World Championship. Then, for sure, I told him, we have to play World Tour Finals, no matter what. No matter what, these three tournaments are very major for me. Unfortunately, All England, things weren’t right. Then yeah, I think with World Championship, coach is a little happier. Beating the Malaysians, he was more happy actually! (laughs) He doesn’t like losing to the Malaysians. We are looking forward to the World Tour finals as well. So, we want to end the season on a good note. And as Chirag said, managing the workload as well. Not to rush ourselves, play in our comfort zone and see where we go."
There is no sight better in Indian badminton than a Satwik-Chirag 1-2 smash attack, rising like a tidal wave, and they ensured the hits were relentless. Aaron-Soh defend better than most, but they stood no chance when the Indians got properly angry – that cold, blue, icy flame of soundless aggression. 15-all. The top-tier attack was followed by Chirag’s reflexive masterclass, and Satwik helped make it 19-16. Soh expectedly grew nervous and erred, but it was the Chirag clutch serve that was working its magic.
Kim-Seo BREEZE THROUGH in the opening game, just 11 minutes for 21-9.
Satwik appeared off colour in the opening set, mostly rattled by the high-octane pace the Malaysians struck to the net exchanges from the outset. Aaron-Soh operated at elevated speed, as if with a trampoline for the floor, and crowded the Indians with early attack, which peaked as they went from.11-10 up to 15-10. “Tsup, tsup, zap, zap,” Satwik described the ambush onomatopoeically. “They came all guns blazing, they were everywhere,” he told BWF. “Tough to defend.”
But it’s when the Indians bought into the bloodbath, deciding that they held the bigger cannons, that violence was inevitable. “We said if we have to lift, we have to lift. Can’t battle with them in the front game where they are too strong. If we open up (the court), we have better chances. We are physically a little better. We both can attack and run full court,” Satwik explained. So with the first set gone at 17-21, and staring at a do-or-die, Satwik-Chirag chose to kill.
For a year and some more, the spectre of Aaron Chia snatching an Olympic semifinal spot from them, and breaking their hearts in Paris 2024 into smithereens, keeps resurfacing for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Like a bad dream and all that. The masala dosai-loving, tote bag-dynamo from Malaysia, who erupts like an inflammation, blurs the line between actual threat and haunting perception – owing to two key medals Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have cost the Indians in the past at Worlds and Olympics. But a come-from-behind three-set win of 17-21, 21-18, 21-15, with the BWF World Tour Finals semis at stake, brought out a mid-match pumped fist from Chirag after he sealed the second set in what eventually ended as three wins out of three in ‘Group of Death.’
Shi Yu Qi rather comfortably beats Kunlavut, and now it is time for the two men's doubles semifinals to close out Saturday's action. First is Korea vs Indonesia, then it will be India vs China.
Satwik and Chirag recovered from the loss of the opening game to register a three-game victory, winning the second and third games with authority to finish as Group B toppers. The result also carried added significance, as the Indian duo avenged their defeat to the Malaysians at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, completing a full-circle moment on one of badminton’s biggest stages.
The Indians had already built strong momentum in the group stage, opening their campaign with a gritty comeback win over China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, followed by a commanding three-game victory against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. Their flawless run ensured they progressed unbeaten from a group widely regarded as the toughest in the draw.
Against the experienced Malaysian pair, Satwik and Chirag once again showcased their resilience. After conceding the first game, they raised the tempo, controlled the mid-court exchanges and stayed composed in key moments to turn the contest around and confirm their semi-final berth.
(Via BAI)
Shi Yu Qi and Kunlavut Vitidsarn are currently in action in the men's singles semifinal. Shi is on the verge of a straight-games win in this one, leading 21-16 8-4. There is one more men's doubles match after this one, then Satwik-Chirag will enter the court along with Liang-Wang.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Indian badminton. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are gunning for a place in the BWF World Tour Finals title clash on Sunday but face a stern test against familiar rivals, China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. Hangzhou is the venue for this high-octane semifinals match-up.
Can Satwik-Chirag seal their place in the prestigious final? Hang around as we build-up to the big match.
For a year and some more, the spectre of Aaron Chia snatching an Olympic semifinal spot from them, and breaking their hearts in Paris 2024 into smithereens, keeps resurfacing for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Like a bad dream and all that.
The masala dosai-loving, tote bag-dynamo from Malaysia, who erupts like an inflammation, blurs the line between actual threat and haunting perception – owing to two key medals Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have cost the Indians in the past at Worlds and Olympics. But a come-from-behind three-set win of 17-21, 21-18, 21-15, with the BWF World Tour Finals semis at stake, brought out a mid-match pumped fist from Chirag after he sealed the second set in what eventually ended as three wins out of three in ‘Group of Death.’ READ MORE
