"Hong Kong was never good for us...," says Satwik after reaching first final in 16 months

The Indian men's badminton doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the final of the 2025 Hong Kong Open Super 500, reaching a final after nearly 16 months.

The former world No 1 pair's last appearance in a final came way back in May 2024, when they lifted the Thailand Open Super 500 title.

Speaking to BWF after the match, Rankireddy recalled how Hong Kong has otherwise been a tough place for them.

"Hong Kong was never good for us," a relieved Rankireddy said. "I think, we played three or four tournaments [in Hong Kong] pre-covid and we always lost in the first round.

"The story is like Singapore, where we always lost in the first round.

"I felt [before the tournament] that we'll change it around. So, really happy being in the final," he added.

Shetty echoed the same sentiments after the straight games 21-17, 21-15 win over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing-Wei.

"Finals, finally," he said with a chuckle. "I think, its been seven semi-finals.

"Since China Open last year, we've been constantly playing semi-finals. We really wanted to play a final, it's been a while. The last final we played was in May before the Olympics," he said.

Since their title win at the Thailand Open 2024, the Indians have lost six semi-finals. This includes five semi-finals this season. 

Rankireddy and Shetty will now face China's sixth seeded Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the title clash on Sunday.

The Indians had gotten the better of Liang and Wang in their most recent encounter at the 2025 BWF World Championships, during their bronze medal winning run.