Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, down a game and staring at a third runner-up finish, tore up the script. They stormed back to beat home favourites He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 on Sunday, avenging two painful final losses in 2023 and 2025 to finally win the China Masters.

Satwik credited the win to a marked improvement in their physical conditioning, coming just weeks after a disappointing quarterfinal exit at the badminton World championships at home. “We weren’t sure how our bodies could cope throughout the week in China. But we became much better after the World championships. Our bodies settled down, and we got better. That’s a good sign going forward,” Satwik said during a virtual interaction on Monday.

Chirag added that the physical grind of their run in China had doubled as ideal preparation — mentally and physically — for the final itself.

Through it all, the attack-minded duo remained committed to their game plan. “It’s always Plan A; there is no Plan B for us,” Satwik emphasised.

“The Chinese want to play a fast game, and if you’re playing with Malaysians and Indonesians, they’re not as attacking,” he explained, while also crediting his partner for the pair’s attacking edge.

Their 10th crown on the BWF World Tour gives them a timely confidence boost heading into their Asian Games title defence later this month.

Meanwhile, Chirag, spotted with a belt strapped around his waist during the post-match celebrations, was quick to wave off any fitness concerns ahead of the continental event.

“I’ve been wearing it since the injury at the All England last year. If I get a period of one month, probably in December, when I can have a good stretch of practice, that is when I can try playing without it and see how I feel. Not confident enough until then,” he stressed.

A title after two years and a handful of early exits, coupled with injury pullouts, sum up the year Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have had so far in 2026. No wonder then that the two-time World Championships medalists and World No. 5 pair is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming edition at home.

“There is no target, we haven’t spoke anything about that. We just want to be there till the end, go as far as possible,” Satwik, recovering from a recurring shoulder injury, said on Thursday.

“But we are not thinking so much ahead, we don’t want to jinx it or put pressure on ourselves. Just one match at a time, depending on how our body is reacting.”

The injury forced the Indians to pull out of their last two outings in as many months, their last competition being the Singapore Open in May which they won.

The duo is next only to P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to win multiple medals at the marquee event, winning bronze in 2022 and 2025. A third here would seal their spot among the country’s badminton greats.

“Ideally yes, you would want match practice. But coming into a tournament, I wouldn’t say it greatly affects performance,” Chirag insisted.

“I think the most important thing is to be playing in a tournament injury-free. You don’t want to have a great competitive tournament leading up to the World Championships and then playing through injury.”

The Singapore Open also helped the duo end a two-year long title drought stretching all the way back to Thailand Open in 2024, third-place finishes at the 2025 Worlds and World Tour Finals and the Thomas Cup earlier notwithstanding.

“It did give us a lot of relief, a huge boost mentally as well and also confidence-wise. I think it definitely was very important for us because there were some wins like beating the Koreans in the semi-finals, and we understood that whatever we’ve been doing is actually working. It was a step in the right direction,” Chirag added.

Satwik was candid about the season so far. “Yeah, it’s been a mixed bag. But I wasn’t really satisfied so far because the kind of game we want to play, we are not up to the mark there.

“Losing and winning is fine but we felt somewhere we weren’t playing up to our mark in the first three tournaments. Even in Singapore, we weren’t at 100 percent fitness. But we know when we’re fit enough, we can win tournaments,” he declared.

The Commonwealth Games (CWG) have traditionally been one of India’s most productive multi-sport events, with the country consistently returning with a healthy medal haul. But at Glasgow 2026, India’s prospects have taken a hit after several sports, including badminton, were dropped from the programme, with organisers holding cost management responsible for the trim.

The decision, understandably, has not gone down well within India’s badminton community, with chief national coach P. Gopi Chand among those disappointed.

“Commonwealth was an important event and badminton not being there in Glasgow was quite shocking. It’s done and dusted for this edition, but we are hoping that in our edition in Ahmedabad (2030), we would have badminton featuring back again. Indian players are stronger than ever, so we do expect some medals from the event as well,” he said in an interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India.

“From an athlete’s perspective, Asian Games are tough for some events, but also there are some events where the participation of countries like Australia, England and Jamaica makes the standard of the Commonwealth Games higher than the Asian Games.”

The CWG is not the only area where badminton has seen change. The sport has also introduced proposals that have split opinion, including a new scoring system and trials involving synthetic shuttlecocks.

“What’s the point of complaining when it’s done? That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t spoken against it,” he quipped.

“For me, the sport has been very, very exciting in the last few years. We have tournaments filled with crowds. The calendar is packed with tournaments, and there was no need for us to mess with the system,” Gopi Chand said, talking about the new 3×15 scoring system replacing the traditional 21-point format.

The 52-year-old was, however, more receptive to the prospect of synthetic shuttlecocks, citing the need to make the sport more sustainable.

Gopi Chand also weighed in on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s remarks about the lack of recognition for badminton players after India’s Thomas Cup bronze medal-winning team returned home to a subdued reception.

Satwik’s comments sparked debate, prompting him to later clarify that he was not asking for “money or grand parades” but simply urging people “to celebrate every win, big or small” across all sports.

“In a lot of ways, I endorse what Satwik said. It’s unfortunate that one of the best players the country has ever produced, especially in doubles, feels that way. We’ve never had anybody reach anywhere close to where they have reached. What he said is genuine. To have them win something big and then not get the recognition which they feel they should is unfortunate,” he explained.

“That said, I genuinely would love to see badminton and other sports being recognised more. But unfortunately, ground reality is that it doesn’t happen. Everybody should lend a hand to ensure that these players’ performances are portrayed better and the visibility is more, so that it is not just fans watching them but also the younger kids taking them as role models and we produce better players for the future.”

(Watch the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games live and exclusive on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV).