Satwik-Chirag pair’s dream of third medal at World Championships ends with humbling defeat

New Delhi: India’s premier men’s doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, saw their quest for a third BWF World Championships medal come to an abrupt end on Friday following a straight-games defeat in the quarter-finals.

The world No. 5 Indian pair, who previously claimed bronze medals at both the 2022 and 2025 editions, lacked their usual sharpness as they fell 18-21, 9-21 to China's world No. 3 pair and Paris Olympics silver medallists, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, in a brief 36-minute encounter.

Treesa-Gayatri end 15-year women's doubles wait

Earlier in the day, the unseeded Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand delivered a stunning comeback victory to guarantee themselves a place on the podium.

Battling back after dropping the opening game, the duo overcame China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in a hard-fought battle lasting an hour and nine minutes. The victory propelled them into the semi-finals, assuring India of at least a bronze medal.

The triumph marks a major milestone for Indian badminton, securing the nation's first women's doubles World Championships medal since 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa took bronze in London. It also caps an impressive return to form for the pair, following Treesa's recent recovery from injury. (PTI)