~ The duo became the first Indians to win the China Masters crown since the tournament began in 2005. It was also their fourth BWF Super 750 title.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 07.09.2026) :: India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made history by winning the China Masters 2026 badminton men’s doubles title after rallying from behind in Shenzhen on Sunday.
The Indian pair, fifth in the badminton rankings, beat the People’s Republic of China’s former world No. 4 combination of He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 in an hour and 10 minutes in the final of the BWF Super 750 event.
The triumph made Satwik and Chirag the first Indian badminton players to win the China Masters since the tournament started in 2005.
The reigning Asian Games men’s doubles badminton champions had finished runners-up in Shenzhen in 2023 and 2025 and made a semi-final appearance in 2024.
The China Masters badminton triumph was also Satwik and Chirag’s 10th career title on the BWF World Tour and their second of the 2026 season.
He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu, who won bronze at the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year, raced to a 5-0 lead in the first game and maintained their advantage to take the opener.
Satwik and Chirag conceded early points in the second game but drew level at 6-6. A three-point burst then helped the Indian shuttlers build momentum as they went into the mid-game interval 11-7 ahead.
The fourth-seeded Indian pair then stretched their advantage and, despite a brief fightback from He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu, won the final four points in the second game to force a decider.
The Indians then had to play catch-up once again in the deciding game after conceding the opening four points.
They gradually worked their way back into the contest and drew level at 7-7, but were unable to move ahead as the Chinese pair continued to hold a slender 11-9 advantage at the interval.
Satwik and Chirag, in fact, also trailed 17-16 at one stage before a strong finish saw them win five consecutive points. They drew level at 17-all and took the lead for the first time in the game, closing out the contest to seal the title.
The victory extended Satwik and Chirag’s perfect head-to-head record against He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu to 3-0. The Indians had also beaten the Chinese pair at the China Masters 2023 and the Malaysia Open 2024.
Sunday’s victory handed the Indian duo its fourth BWF Super 750 crown. They previously won the French Open at this level in 2022 and 2024 before lifting the Singapore Open title earlier this year.
Satwik and Chirag will next turn their attention to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which gets underway on September 19.
The badminton competition will run from September 20 to 29, with Satwik and Chirag heading to Japan as the reigning Asian Games men’s doubles champions.
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