India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a fighting performance to beat Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-13, 16-21, 21-18 and enter the semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday. The Indian pair made a strong start but were pushed into a decider after the Danes levelled the contest.
Satwik and Chirag held their nerve in the final game to seal a hard-fought victory. The win continued the Indian duo’s impressive run at the China Masters, where they have reached the semifinals in every edition since 2019, finishing runners-up in 2023 and 2025. The victory also marked their second win over Astrup and Rasmussen at the China Masters, after they had beaten the Danish pair in the quarterfinals in 2024.
Earlier in the day, Kidambi Srikanth’s campaign ended in the quarterfinals after he went down 16-21, 16-21 to Hong Kong China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Results
* Quarterfinal (MD): Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bt Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark) 21-13, 16-21, 21-18
* Quarterfinal (MS): Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hong Kong China) bt Kidambi Srikanth 21-16, 21-16
excerpts from press release
Picture credits: Badminton Photo
