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India's premier men's doubles shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have risen three spots to No. 2 in the latest world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation on Tuesday, November 28.
That comes following the duo's runner-up finish at last week's Super 750 tournament, the China Masters, in Shenzen. The Indian pair have 90,761 points, trailing the Chinese World No. 1 combine of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who have 94,391 points.
Keng and Chang were the ones who dealt Rankireddy and Shetty their first final defeat of the year.
In men's singles, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth maintained their respective eighth, 17th and 24th positions, while Priyanshu Rajawat dropped a solitary spot to 31st.
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Prannoy made the quarterfinals of the China Masters before losing to eventual champion Kodai Naraoka. Meanwhile, in women's singles, PV Sindhu slipped a rung to 12th. In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continue to be 19th.
India's top mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy held on to their 39th ranking.
Rankireddy and Shetty lost thrilling China Masters final
Rankireddy and Shetty were edged by the World No. 1 pair of Keng and Chang 21-19, 18-21, 21-19 in one hour and 11 minutes in an enthraling final at the China Masters on Sunday (November 26).
The Indians hadn't lost a game on their way to the summit showdown in Shenzen. After conceding their first game of the week, they rebounded in fine fashion to level matters. However, the Chinese pair ran away in the decider to hold seven match points in hand.
Rankireddy and Shetty showed exceptional fighting spirit to save six match points but couldn't complete the comeback. It ended the Indian pair's unbeaten final streak this season.
Rankireddy and Shetty have won gold medals at the Asian Games and the Badminton Asia Championships in 2023, besides clinching titles at the Indonesia Open, the Korea Open and the Swiss Open. They also created history by climbing to the pinnacle of the world rankings in October.
