Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s BWF World Championships campaign ended in the quarterfinals after the Indian pair suffered a straight-game defeat to China’s third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The duo went down 18-21, 9-21, unable to cope with the Chinese pair’s quick returns, strong defence and ability to turn rallies around. Shetty felt the Indian pair had the upper hand for most of the first game and that their tactics were working as planned as he said, “The first game was very good. We were leading until 18, and I think the game plan we had set was working very well. But after we lost the first game, I think they came back much harder in the second game.”

Reddy highlighted how important it was to control the opening exchanges, as the Chinese pair looked most dangerous when they could dictate the pace early in the rallies.”They were very good in the first four shots. Whoever controlled the first four shots was winning. In the first game, we were controlling those exchanges, but they got confident after a few points,” he said. Reddy's teammate also praised the Chinese pair’s ability to absorb pressure and turn defence into attack. “Their defence was also very good. In a lot of the points where we thought we would get a finish, we couldn’t. They were not just retrieving but also converting those balls into attack,” he said.

Historic medal for Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, heartbreak for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand created history at the BWF World Championships, securing India’s first medal after women’s doubles at the World Championships since Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta won bronze in 2011, after reaching the semifinals in New Delhi. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced a stunning performance against China’s fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shuxian, fighting through a tense three-game contest with the scores of 16-21,21-15, 21-13 to book their place in the last four. Their victory ensured that India would leave the home World Championships with a medal.

The historic achievement came on a day that also brought disappointment for India’s leading men’s doubles pair. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing 18-21, 9-21 to China’s third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The Indians had competed closely in the opening game but struggled to maintain their intensity as the Chinese duo took control in the second. With the defeat, Satwik and Chirag’s medal hopes ended, leaving Treesa and Gayatri as India’s sole representatives on the World Championships podium. The result nonetheless gave Indian badminton a memorable moment on home soil.