Shenzhen, Sep 6: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty say staying “mindfully aggressive” helped them break the China Masters jinx and the triumph has provided a “big boost” ahead of the Asian Games where they will go “all guns blazing” .
It was third time lucky for the Indian duo as they produced a stirring comeback to beat China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 11-21 21-13 21-17 and clinch the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750 title here on Sunday on their third attempt.
It was their second title of the 2026 season and first at this event.
“Playing here is always good. We have always played (well) coming back from injury. In 2024 after Olympics we played here, we played semis. Then last year we played, we weren’t in a good shape. We played finals,” Satwik said.
“I think this also, after coming back from injury, this has been a tournament where it gave us a lot of confidence. This week has been the same story. Except the first round, all the games we have played three games.”
Talking about the final, Satwik said: “Today, we kind of held the nerve. We didn’t make easy mistakes in the end. 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. If it works, then it’s good. If not, we’ll go back and work again. So I think that has worked today and really happy. We kind of broke the jinx and I think second title in 2026. Really happy.”
The title comes just weeks ahead of their title defence at the Asian Games, which is scheduled to be held from September 19 in Japan.
Talking about the Asian Games, Chirag said: “It feels really special. 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.
“We will go back home, push ourselves to the limit, train for the next 10 days and go all guns blazing at the Asian Games. We want to go out there and have some fun.”
Asked whether they were not aggressive enough in the opening game, Chirag said the issue was their shot selection.
“In the first game, it wasn’t lacking but 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,” Chirag said.
“So in the second game when we started, we wanted to be aggressive, but mindfully aggressive. And that’s what he (coach) was telling.”
Satwik, who opted for a flick serve and gained several points, said he sharpened his service and receive during his recovery from a recurring shoulder injury that has bothered him for most of the season.
“It’s very rare I get five points on my service. It’s always Chirag who takes the game. In quarterfinals when we played with Kim-Anders, I think that match gave confidence,” he said.
“Same scenario, 17-17, we are down. I was serving then. I was practising more on the services because I was injured. When I was injured also, I was doing a lot of services and catching it. So I think that has helped me in the last two tournaments. But I think it’s just a feeling, mental thing.
“You just need to catch something, serve and believe in yourself. There has been a lot of behind-the-scenes with the coach, training, the same thing. Because we know opponents will target me when I’m serving. So we have seen a lot of videos, people targeting me in the service. They want to challenge me. So I think I have been practising that. I think that has helped me.”
It was a battle of nerve in the end game as Satwik and Chirag, after lagging for all the game, caught up at 16-16 before prevailing.
“In the third game, we were pretty much calm. Even Chirag was telling, ‘we are under control’. We didn’t panic much, actually. So we just served and played according to the schedule. That has helped us,” Satwik said. (PTI)
