Badminton: India duo Rankireddy-Shetty fall to Malaysian pair in semi-final of 2025 China Open
World number two send India pair crashing out of China Open
India’s top-ranked men’s badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered disappointment against familiar foes in the last four at the 2025 China Open, losing to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik at the Olympic Sports Centre in Jiangsu this weekend.
Chia/Soh are ranked second in the world standings and were the clear favourites with the best online betting sites heading into the match. The 2022 world champions lived up to expectations, beating the Indian pair in straight sets 21-13, 21-17.
Notably, this was the 14th time these doubles pairs had crossed paths in international competition, and the Malaysian duo now lead the head-to-head standings with 11 wins to their opponents’ three. Following the defeat, a visibly disappointed Shetty admitted:
“We had chances, especially in the second game. But we played the wrong strokes and targeted Aaron too much. That cost us. It was a good tournament overall, but the way we went out is disappointing. We’ve got to be more tactical and sharper with execution.”
Earlier in the competition, Rankireddy and Shetty fared much better against another Malaysian team in Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, whom they beat 21-18, 21-14 in the quarter-final. The pair’s focus will now shift to the Macau Open and World Championship in Paris, which gets underway on August 25.
PV Sindhu continues to struggle to find top form
Arguably, the biggest upset at the 2025 China Open came on Thursday last week when India’s two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu was beaten by 17-year-old compatriot Unnati Hooda in the round of 16 of the women’s singles competition.
The teenager produced a performance well beyond her age to oust the former world champ 21-16, 19-21, 21-13. She wrapped up the victory in under 75 minutes, exacting revenge for the defeat she was handed by Sindhu at the Syed Modi India International tournament in 2024. After the match, Sindhu said:
"She (Hooda) is doing well, so I wish her all the best. I think it's good that Indian badminton is picking up and is doing well. Many more girls like her and a lot more are coming up. It's a good sign."
Unfortunately, Hooda was unable to build on the victory over her idol, losing to two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in straight sets 21-16, 21-12 in the semi-final the following day. The Japanese shuttler wrapped up the victory in just 33 minutes.
