India’s challenge in the men’s doubles at the Indonesia Open suffered a setback on Wednesday as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were forced to retire from their opening-round match due to Satwik’s shoulder injury.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shettu
India’s challenge in the men’s doubles at the Indonesia Open suffered a setback on Wednesday as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were forced to retire from their opening-round match due to Satwik’s shoulder injury.
The world No. 4 pair were trailing 6-11 in the opening game against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai when Satwik, who has been dealing with a recurring right shoulder problem, signalled discomfort and decided not to continue. The Indian duo subsequently conceded the match.
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The injury has troubled Satwik for some time and had also forced the pair to withdraw from the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year.
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Confirming the development, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said, “Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the Indonesia Open 2026 due to the former’s injury. The pair will now focus on recovery and rehabilitation as they prepare for the important tournaments ahead. We wish Satwik a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing the duo back on court soon.”
The withdrawal comes just days after Satwik and Chirag created history by becoming the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win the Singapore Open. The duo had fought back from a game down to defeat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the final.
There was better news for India in mixed doubles, where Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde progressed to the second round with a straight-games win over world No. 20 pair Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang of Chinese Taipei.
Earlier in the tournament, Lakshya Sen’s campaign ended in the first round after the world No. 10 lost to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan. However, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made a winning start. Sindhu, who returned to the world’s top 10 this week for the first time since October 2023, defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in her opening-round match.
India also enjoyed success in men’s doubles through Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, who pulled off an upset win against Malaysia’s Tan Wee Kiong and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub. Tan is a Rio Olympics silver medallist in men’s doubles, making the victory one of the notable results for the Indian pair at the BWF Super 1000 tournament.
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