How Satwiksairaj And Chirag Shetty Conquered China Masters

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty attribute their China Masters victory to a "no Plan B" approach, focusing on core strengths and tactical adjustments.

The Indian duo significantly improved their physical condition after a disappointing BWF World Championships outing, which was crucial for their recent success.

They learned to compete at a high level even when not at peak physical condition, gaining immense psychological confidence.

Meticulous post-World Championship reviews helped them address shortcomings and refine their strategy, particularly patience in attack and trust in defence.

The China Masters title, their 10th BWF World Tour crown, provides a significant confidence boost ahead of their Asian Games title defence.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty do not believe in a Plan B. Instead, the Indian badminton stars prefer to stick to their strengths while making the necessary adjustments to counter different opponents, a formula that helped them conquer the China Masters.

The world No. 5 pair, who had finished runners-up at the 2023 and 2025 editions, stressed the importance of sticking to their strengths while adapting their tactics according to their opponents.

"It's always Plan A, there is no Plan B for us. But I think it depends on opponents who we are playing. It's never easy. It's tough," Satwik said on Monday during a virtual interaction facilitated by Badminton Association of India (BAI).

Elaborating on their tactical approach, he added, "If you're playing with some Indonesians, Malaysians who are not really strong hitters, we want to open up and play some defense game, then try to get into the attack. "But if we are playing with someone who has good attack, we want to take a chance in the frontcourt and challenge them and see and take from there."

Both Satwik and Chirag attributed their historic recent triumph to a marked improvement in their physical condition, following a disappointing outing at the BWF World Championships where they had limited court time and struggled with match sharpness.

"I think it's mainly physical, I think. I think physical aspect. I think we became much better after World Championship. We got a time, we got adjusted," Satwik explained. "Then, we weren't sure as well in China Masters, like how much we can cope up with the body throughout the week. So we are just taking one match at a time. So I think overall, it was pretty much comfortable throughout the week. So that's a good sign going ahead."

Reflecting on the takeaways from the World Championships, Satwik noted that realising they could compete at a high level even when not at 100% physical capacity provided a massive psychological boost. "Even without our A weapons, we kind of playing at a high level. So that was a very good point, as in like physically wasn't there, like fully not yet there. But I think still playing at the top level, I think that was a huge confidence for us," he said.

The Indian pair rallied to beat China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 11-21 21-13 21-17 in the final on Sunday to claim their maiden China Masters title and second BWF World Tour crown of the season.

Chirag said the gruelling nature of their matches in China had helped them prepare physically and mentally for the title clash, noting that their meticulous post-World Championship reviews made a tangible difference. 

"Prior to the tournament, we just had meetings about what went wrong at the World Championships and how we could do better things, maybe psychologically, maybe technically or whatever. "But I think all those shortcomings that we had at the World Championships, I think we were able to address it and correct it quite well at the China Masters," Chirag said.

"I think one of the major things that we incorporated from the World Championships is to be patient while we are attacking and to trust our defense. I think that's one thing which we did fairly well at the China Masters," he added.

"When we played five matches here at the China Masters, and we almost played three games, barring the first round... yet, I think the body feels a lot better than it was at the World Championships. So I think we got another week of practice going towards the China Masters. And I think that really helped us to do well at the China Masters."

The victory is the duo's 10th BWF World Tour title and has provided a major confidence boost ahead of their Asian Games title defence later this month.

"For the Asian Games, three years back, we did win a gold at the Asian Games. But having said that, a lot of people will say that yeah, we are the pair to beat a week or two before the Asian Games. I wouldn't say that. There are plenty of other good pairs as well," Chirag said. "We just want to go out there and have as much fun as we normally do on the badminton court. And if you are able to do that, I think we'll be able to go deep into the tournament. And that's the only thing we want to do. Like not really think too much about the results."

As for their customary victory celebrations, Satwik laughed off questions about their dance routine on court. "So with the dance, I think it's never a planned thing for me. It's just happened in the moment and it's kind of traditional for us. So we just want to keep that tradition going. That's it."

With just over a week to go before they head to Japan for their next assignments, Chirag summed up their immediate agenda with a familiar mantra: "More practice, more practice, more practice? Yeah, I think that's always the case. We have 10 days to go before we head to Japan."