India shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty fought valiantly before going down to the Chinese duo of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in an exciting men’s doubles final of the China Masters Super 750 tournament here on Sunday.

Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games champions, lost 19-21, 21-18, 19-21 to the world No. 1 Chinese pair after a one-hour, 11-minute battle, their first defeat in six finals this season.

The Indian pair gave ample display of their grit as they saved six championship points from 13-20 to 19-20 after recovering from 1-8 down in the decider, but Liang and Wang found their bearing just in time to win the first men’s doubles China Masters title for the hosts in eight years.

With this victory, Liang and Wang also avenged their Asian Games loss to the Indians.

In a finale of fluctuating fortunes, the Indian shuttlers couldn’t produce their best as their defence wilted under the pressure of Liang and Wang, who looked in the zone.

Satwik and Chirag have won the Badminton Asian Championships, Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500, and the Asian Games gold in a stellar year.