Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty took down Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri 21-11, 16-21, 21-11 to win their second consecutive match at the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals on Thursday.
The win ensures that Rankireddy and Shetty stay on top of the Group B table and are the only pair with two wins in what is dubbed as the group of death.
Unlike their campaign opener on Wednesday, Rankireddy and Shetty got off to a stellar start against Alfian and Fikri.
The Indians were never really tested as they cruised to take the first game 21-11 in just 14 minutes.
Fikri and Alfian turned up the heat, playing from the favourable side of the court in the second game. Rankireddy and Shetty still held their own to trail only by two points at the mid-game interval.
The Indonesians upped the ante post the interval to win the second game 21-16 and forced a decider.
The deciding game was once again all about the third seeded pair from India. They opened up an 11-4 lead before the change of ends and built on it to wrap up the match 21-11 without breaking a sweat.
Rankireddy and Shetty will next face arch nemesis Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in their final group match on Friday. A win tomorrow will make them the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach BWF World Tour Finals semis.
