Hangzhou, Dec 17 (IANS) India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, began their BWF World Tour Finals 2025 campaign on a strong note with a gutsy comeback win over China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Up against a pair that had won four of their last five meetings, the World No. 3 Indians showed resilience and control to prevail 12-21, 22-20, 21-14 in a high-intensity contest that lasted just over an hour. The victory gives Satwik and Chirag an early boost in a fiercely competitive Group B, which also features Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik and Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.

Satwik and Chirag started brightly but lost momentum in the opening game as the Chinese duo took control to close it out 21-12. The Indians responded strongly in the second, absorbing pressure and staying composed in the closing stages to edge it 22-20 after trailing for the early parts. Carrying that momentum into the decider, Satwik and Chirag stamped their authority, pulling away after an early exchange to seal the match 21-14.

The Indian pair will next face Alfian and Fikri on Thursday as they look to seal a semifinal berth in the season-ending showpiece. Alfian and Fikri started with a defeat to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik 24-22, 19-21, 19-21 on Wednesday.

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 other matches on Wednesday, Women's World No.1 An Se Young of South Korea defeated Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, with the top-seed struggling to win 21-16, 8-21, 21-8.

--IANS

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