Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a disappointing defeat against China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, with Indian men’s doubles coach Tan Kim Her noting that there were some small but costly mistakes that changed the momentum of the match. The Indian pair went down 21-18, 21-9 after appearing to be in control for much of the opening game.
Moreover, the defeat was especially sour because Satwik and Chirag had been playing very hard in the match. The opening game was very tight and both pairs were fighting hard, exchanging points at a rapid rate. The Indians were tied at 4-all and 10-all with their Chinese opponents by mid-match and held a small edge into the interval.
Satwik and Chirag then appeared to take control by 15-12 ahead. Their attacking game and quick exchanges put pressure on Liang and Wang, and the Indian pair looked capable of taking the opening game. They extended their lead to 16-14 after a fast-paced flat rally that showed their ability to compete with the Chinese pair.
But the momentum started to shift at a crucial stage. A long shot from Satwik enabled Liang and Wang to close the gap and the score was 18-all. Tan says that with the mistakes on the receiving phase at this stage the Chinese players were all the more determined to finish strong.
"Satwik has just recovered from injury, so I think he and Chirag played well,” Tan said after the match. The coach said the Indian duo successfully executed their game plan for much of the first game but at the end it proved expensive when a few errors went wrong.
When Liang and Wang moved ahead, they appeared more comfortable. The Chinese combination took advantage and won the first game 21-18. For the Indian pair, losing such a close opening game was an immediate turning point.
The second game was completely different. Satwik and Chirag struggled to keep up with the intensity they had shown earlier. Liang and Wang quickly took 9-4 and 11-5 leads into the interval.
The Chinese pair continued to build pressure after the break. Their lead grew to 15-7 and the Indians had little room for recovery. Satwik’s shot, which landed in the net, helped China move to 17-9. By then, Liang and Wang were feeling more confident and the Indian pair was trying to find some answers.
Tan suggested that the outcome had much to do with the psychological dynamics of the opening game. The coach said if Satwik and Chirag had won the first game, the game might have gone another way. Instead, Liang and Wang had the confidence to survive the pressure and win the opener.
The result also underlined the growing challenge facing Liang and Wang for Satwik and Chirag. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik were once considered one of the most difficult opponents for the Indian pair on the international circuit. But now the Chinese combination has taken over that role, winning 10 of their 14 matches against Satwik and Chirag.
Tan rejected the idea that Liang and Wang had discovered a single weakness that guaranteed success against the Indians. Their repeated meetings and the ability to handle the pressure on a particular day can determine the outcome, he said.
The defeat is both sad and a lesson for Satwik and Chirag. Satwik is back from injury and physically strong enough but not so much that he will be forced to make unforced errors in the end. A few errors against the best players like Liang and Wang can completely change the course of a match against someone like that.
For India’s top men’s doubles pair, the immediate task now will be to learn from the collapse in the closing stages of the first game and regain confidence. The narrow opening-game battle showed that they can match the Chinese pair when their strategies and execution come into play. Now comes the hard part: to keep that level for the entire match and not let small errors turn into big momentum swings.
