Paris, Aug 31 (IANS) After Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fell short of reaching their maiden BWF World Championships final with a 19-21, 21-18, 12-21 against China’s Chen Boyang and Liu Yi in a semifinal, the Indian duo conceded that the lack of rhythm in the third game cost them a match.

Their run to the semifinals, however, guaranteed them a bronze medal and ensured that India’s streak of winning at least one medal at every BWF World Championships since 2011 remained intact.

“I didn’t really get any rhythm. We didn’t really get any rhythm. I think we didn’t start off that well. We gave away very easy points. They were serving also quite well. But I think we should have been a little more smarter. But credit to them, they served quite well from the start of the third game,” Chirag said after the match.

“I felt they played with much more confidence. Like we did in the past matches. Just maybe body language. They were a little more enjoying than us. Maybe in the first game when we were leading, even though they were down, they were just giving what they had. I think that’s what we did in the previous matches.

“We played really well in the patches, patches. Then again, in the third game, I think he (Chirag) got a good feeling. It’s all a matter of confidence, how mentally strong you are. But in the third game, that stretch cost us. Maybe we would have done something different at that stage,” added Satwik.

The Indian duo started strong but couldn’t hold off a Chinese comeback. After losing the opener 19-21, they took the second game 21-18 to force a decider. But the Chinese pair dominated the third game with a 9-0 start, sealing a convincing win to reach the final.

Reflecting on what happened in the third game, Chirag added, “I think they served quite well right from the start of the third game. I think we could have made a few changes here and there. Not really rush into the service because they were serving quite deep. But yeah, there was a credit to them that they could put us out of place.”

This is Satwik-Chirag’s second bronze medal at the BWF World Championships after their bronze in the 2022 edition in Tokyo.

Speaking on their second bronze at the BWF Worlds, Chirag said, “I think this week has been really good. Played some really good matches. Beat players there who we’ve not had a good record against in the previous matches. But yeah, sad that we couldn’t play that final. We really wanted to play that final. But yeah, overall a good time.”

–IANS

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