Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang both collapsed to the floor in relief after defeating India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The Chinese were properly bottling it from 19-10 up in the decider to allowing the Indians a chance at 20-17, their nerves giving away seven of the last nine points of the Hong Kong Open final. And it took Liang viciously smashing away in anger to take the Chinese home to a 19-21, 21-14, 21-17 victory.
But the idea that the Indians can be bashed about at will (they trail the Chinese pair 3-7 in the head-to-head now) has been irreversibly replaced by the seed of a doubt: that the Chinese Plan A, one that relies on almighty speed, can at times be unsettled by an Indian Plan B. That the World Championships loss wasn’t an aberration, though a Super 500 title can be as much redemption for the World’s loss, as the World’s medal was a salve for the Indian Olympic loss.
That India’s Plan B faltered though, was fully down to their own mistakes, not triggered by any genius masterclass of the Chinese.
HIGHLIGHTS: Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag go down against their Chinese rivals to finish runners-up
India’s Plan B, essentially Satwik manning the net, Chirag smashing from the back, is entirely dictated by Satwik’s fitness levels – to protect the overworked shoulder, which will heal and strengthen to optimum at its own sweet pace. This means Chirag falls back and brings the muscle and meanness to the attack from the back. It’s a fallback option, a contingency, but also the essence of the experimental 2025 – where goals are to learn to adapt, adjust, upskill and downplay the fear arising out of this enforced flux. A Worlds medal and Super Series final are good enough returns to persist with the experiment.
Coach Tan Kim Her is guiding them along, and making both far more rounded players than they were. Chirag has fitted into the role well, but it’s a huge role-change for Satwik, hitherto considered the booming gun. He’s not poor at net skills, he’s in fact mighty canny and brainy. But his confidence to stay committed to the front court can waver. His instinct urges him to step back and have a whack at the shuttle, but the net demands laser-sharp focus. So the 6-8 point in the opener became a harbinger of that conundrum that needs ironing out, when he was caught at half-court, uncertainly moving back as the shuttle went past him.
The Indians won the first set, against run of play. Wang zealously overarched and tapped from Indian airspace – an iffy fault, not given. Satwik got angry. He Hulked out, smashed the next and sent the last serve smack on the line. 21-19, as the Chinese let it drop.
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From then on, the Chinese, notably Liang, upped his intensity, belted at the jump smash, routinely 420kph+, and pranced around the court, taking Wang along in his frenzy. A flick serve, a net push and plenty of his smashes were directed to bisect the two Indians, right down the centre line vertically on the court. India’s rotation, that intuitive sense of who will go for which shuttle, got zonked like a microwave interfering with an old WiFi. “All at sea” was the precise phrase used on comms, as the Indian understanding got scrambled with tentative footwork. Chirag had absorbed the early attack directed at him, but from the second the Chinese exploited the gaps in communication.
Weikeng was far too smart, and didn’t pounce on it all. From there, the Chinese went from 11-5 to 21-14 in the second. Just like the World Championships, the Indians even trailed 0-6 at the start of the third and 2-10 midway. Indians patched back their formation and Satwik found his equilibrium to calmly chip away at the Chinese hesitation. But that early lead was far too much, denying Indians their first title. The loss had clear outlines, and the missed Super 500 will gnaw, but there’s China Open starting Tuesday.
Lakshya outmuscled by Li Shifeng
In the men’s singles final, Lakshya Sen once again ran into an attacking juggernaut, and once his assurance at the net collapsed, he went on an error-spree. These are not lapses of concentration, but from 10-9 to 10-14 in the first and from 4-1 to 4-8 in the second, Sen seemed to be dwelling on the previous mistake, and didn’t move on fast enough to establish his dominance at the net. The score gap opened like a shark’s jaw, and his dream of a first title since 2023 were chewed up.
A round-the-head, down-the-line smash and a longer fast exchange rally offered him two avenues to get back on the grid, but the Li Shifeng mammoth smashes just kept raining down around him, and the Chinese won 21-15, 21-12.
