Satwik-Chirag Crash Out of World Championships as India’s Medal Hopes Shift
The Indian men’s doubles pair suffered a straight-game quarter final defeat, leaving Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as the country’s remaining medal contenders.
NEW DELHI, Aug 22: India’s leading men’s doubles combination Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out of the 2026 BWF World Championships after suffering a straight game quarter final defeat against China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang.
The Indian pair entered the quarter final with strong medal expectations but could not overcome the world No. 3 Chinese combination, ending their campaign without a podium finish.
The defeat represents a setback for India at the prestigious tournament, particularly after Satwik and Chirag had established themselves as one of the country’s strongest international badminton pairs.
Despite their exit, India’s campaign received a major boost from Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The women’s doubles pair secured a place in the semi-finals and guaranteed India’s first women’s doubles World Championships medal since 2011.
Their achievement has provided a significant bright spot for the Indian contingent after several other leading players were eliminated earlier in the competition.
The focus now turns to Treesa and Gayatri, who remain India’s main hope of adding to the country’s medal tally at the championships.
The result also underlines the growing depth of Indian badminton, with the women’s doubles pair making a breakthrough on one of the sport’s biggest stages while the country’s established men’s doubles stars were unable to advance.
For Satwik and Chirag, the loss brings their World Championships campaign to an end, while attention will now shift towards their recovery and preparations for the next major events on the international calendar.
