File photo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
| Photo Credit: AP
Star Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down fighting to Chinese duo Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the men’s doubles final of the China Masters in Shenzhen on November 26.
The champion Indian duo lost the first game 19-21, staged a remarkable rally to win the second game 21-18, and made another valiant attempt at a comeback after being down 1-8 before losing the title decider 19-21 in a one-hour, 11-minute battle.
The Indians stood a win away from claiming their second BWF Super 750 title when they took to the court, but the world number one pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang seized the advantage by running away with the first game.
The Indian pair, gold medallists at the Hangzhou Asian Games, made their way back into the contest by taking the second game and take the final to the decider.
However, the Chinese kept their composure to emerge triumphant after staving off another excellent comeback form the former world number Indian duo. The Chinese pair of Liang and Wang led the head-to-head record against heading into this final though the Indian duo won their most recent meetings in straight games.