Badminton World C'ships: Satwik-Chirag Duo Sign Off With a Maiden Bronze Medal

The Indian pair went down narrowly to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals on Friday.

India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (left) and Chirag Shetty suffered a loss in the men's doubles semi-final of the Badminton World Championships in Tokyo on Friday.  

(Photo: PTI)

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty signed off with a maiden bronze medal in the men's doubles competition of the Badminton World Championships after going down narrowly to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals here on Friday.

The World No 7 Indian pair flattered to deceive as it squandered an opening game advantage to go down 22-20, 18-21, 16-21 in a pulsating 77-minute clash to bring an end to the Indian challenge at the prestigious tournament.

It was the sixth successive defeat against the Malaysian pair for Satwik and Chirag, who had lost to the same combination at the mixed team final of the Commonwealth Games early this month.

Despite the loss, it was a creditable show by the young Indian pair as it ensured India continued to return with a medal from the World Championships since 2011, the year the country won its first doubles medal with Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa returning with a bronze.