The Indian badminton men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty finished as runner-up at the 2025 Hong Kong Open Super 500 on Sunday.
Eighth seeded Rankireddy and Shetty lost to sixth seed Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang of China 21-19, 14-21, 17-21.
Having faced five semi-final exits, including the 2025 BWF World Championships, the Indian pair closed the contest in a little over an hour.
The Indian pair had a shaky start in the second game, trailing 5-11 at the halfway mark. The duo then upped the ante and soon closed the gap to just two points. However, they lost their rhythm and eventually conceded the second set 14-21.
In the third and final game, China’s Wei-Chang took an early six-point lead at 0-6 and quickly extended it to 11-2. The Indian pair fought back hard to close the gap to 17-20 but hit the shuttle wide on the next point, conceding the match.
Lakshay Sen falls short
Lakshya Sen conceded the men’s singles final to second seed Shi Feng Li of China 15-21, 12-21 in 45 minutes.
The match was evenly poised, at the halfway mark in the first game, with Sen trailing by just a point at 10-11. However, the second seed had the final say, sealing the game 21-15 with a sharp cross-court smash.
In the second game, Li got off to another strong start, holding a four-point lead at 11-7. He maintained his momentum to win the game and wrap up the match. This was Sen’s first final appearance this season.
