India, Dec. 20 -- The struggle is real and every athlete, great and small, goes through it. There are no exceptions. But as they'll all tell anyone who'll listen, the important thing is to keep struggling. Never give up. But what is a struggle without some validation of it helping you?

For Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the year has been a struggle. Their last BWF title came in May 2024 and they have had to deal with injuries and personal setbacks as well. But their run to the semi-finals of the BWF World Finals in Hangzhou, China would serve as some validation of continued progress.

The world No.3 pair lost 21-10, 17-21, 13-21 to the world No.5 Chinese pairing of Chang Wang and Wei Keng Liang in a thrilling match on Saturda...