Chirag-Satwik enter China Open semi-finals with straight-games win

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the men’s doubles semi-finals at the BWF Super 1000 China Open 2025 with a straight-games win over Malaysia’s Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo. The Indian pair delivered a dominant performance at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, taking the match 21-18, 21-14 in just 40 minutes. This marks their fourth semi-final appearance of the season, following strong runs at the India, Singapore, and Malaysia Opens.

After a sharp start in the first game, Satwik and Chirag held off a late Malaysian surge to clinch it 21-18. In the second, they pulled away from a tight 15-14 lead with six unanswered points to seal the win.

They now face a high-stakes clash against world No. 2 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, the same pair that ousted them in the Paris 2024 Olympicquarter-finals.

Meanwhile, India’s young shuttlers Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla continued their impressive run at the Badminton Asia Juniors Individual Championships 2025, advancing to the semifinals in Solo, Indonesia. Second seed Tanvi maintained her dominant form in the women’s singles, defeating fifth seed Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan of Indonesia 21-19, 21-14 in a swift 35-minute encounter. Tanvi has been in sublime touch throughout the tournament, securing all her wins in straight games so far.

Joining her in the last four is Vennala Kalagotla, who braved a strong challenge from Thailand’s Janyaporn Meepanthong in a gripping 58-minute contest. Vennala took the opening game 21-18 with some sharp rallies, but Janyaporn fought back to edge the second 21-17, forcing the match into a decider. In the final game, Vennala pulled ahead in the closing stages, eventually sealing a 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 victory to earn her semifinal berth. Both Indians now face Chinese opponents in the semifinals, with Tanvi set to take on eighth seed Yin Yi Qing and Vennala going up against Liu Si Ya.