Shenzhen, Sep 6 (IANS) India's star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reflected on their impressive victory in the China Masters doubles, calling it an end to a "jinx" and a "huge boost" before the Asian Games 2026.

Satwik and Chirag, who missed a BWF World Championship medal in New Delhi last month, defeated the Chinese pair of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in a thrilling three-game outing 11-21, 21-13 and 21-17. The Indian duo came close to winning the Chinese title twice previously but got their hands on the crown in the third attempt, as they reflected on their previous two misses.

"Playing here is always good. We have played (here) always coming back from injury. I think in 2024, after Olympics, we played here; we played the semis. Then last year we played; we weren't in good shape, and we played finals. I think this also like after coming back from injury, I think this has been a tournament that gave us a lot of confidence," Satwik told reporters after the win.

Satwik and Chirag have been on the court for three games for the majority of the tournament. They made a comeback after losing the first game in the final and went on to win the title. "I think today we held our nerve. We didn't do mistakes. So that was a positive from today's match, and we are just sticking to the game plan. We made a game plan before coming. We wanted to do that. So I think that has worked today, and we are really happy we kind of broke the jinx. Second title in 2026. We are really happy," he added.

The Indians lacked the usual aggression in the first game and had to be pumped up by the coach at the sidelines as they mounted a comeback in the second and third games. "Yeah, in the first game I think it wasn't lacking (aggression), but I think we were not playing the right strokes. We were playing a style which favoured them. And when we play a style which favours them, they come all guns blazing.

"You don't really find any space to play against them because they are extremely fast and furious. So in the second game when we started, we wanted to be aggressive, but mindfully aggressive. And that's what he was telling," Chirag said.

Satwik unleashed his serving skills in the third game and won five points in a row to win the match. "I think it's very rare I get five points in my service. It's always Chirag who takes the game.

"But I think again, I think in the quarterfinals when we played with Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, I think that match gave confidence. It was a similar scenario, 17 all, we were down. I was serving then. I have practised more in the service because I was injured. When I was injured, I was also doing a lot of serves. So I think that has helped me in the last two tournaments," Satwik said.

The two will take the confidence from the China Masters into the Asian Games, which kick off on September 19. "Obviously, going into the Asian Games, winning a title definitely gives a huge boost that, yes, what we are working for is in the right direction. But yeah, I think we'll go back home, push ourselves to the limit, train for the next 10 days and go all guns blazing at the Asian Games," Chirag said.

--IANS

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