Badminton: Satwik-Chirag continue winning run, beat Alfian/Fikri to lead Group B in World Tour Finals

Hangzhou (China), Dec 18 (LatestNewsX) India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, registered their second successive win at the BWF World Tour Finals 2025, defeating Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in a pulsating three-game contest at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium on Thursday.

The Indian pair, ranked No.3 in the World, showed authority and composure to win 21-11, 16-21, 21-11, extending their unbeaten run in Group B and moving into a strong position for a semi-final berth. With two wins from two matches, Satwik and Chirag now lead the group and have built a considerable advantage in points difference.

With this win, the Indian pair inched closer to the semifinals, surging to the top spot in Group B with two wins from two matches.

Satwik and Chirag were dominant in the opening game, never trailing at any stage as they controlled the rallies and took it 21-11. The Indonesians, winners of the China Open Super 1000 earlier this year despite forming their partnership only in 2025, mounted a fightback in the second game. Although the Indians recovered from an early 8-3 deficit to level at 12-12, they eventually conceded the game 16-21.

The Indian pair responded emphatically in the decider. After brief early exchanges, Satwik and Chirag surged ahead, opening up leads of up to eight points before closing out the match comfortably at 21-11.

They will next face second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia on Friday in their final group fixture.

Group A comprises the top-seeded pair Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae of Korea, Wei Chong Man/Wun Tee Kai of Malaysia, Sabai Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia, along with Chiu Hsiang-Chieh/Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei.

In women’s singles matches, fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan came back from the loss of the first game to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia to win the match 22-24, 21-19, 21-13 while top seed An Se Young of Korea defeated Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in straight games, 21-9, 21-6 in a 33-minute encounter.

bsk/