Paris Olympics: Heartbreak for Chirag-Satwik as Indian duo suffers shock exit after going down to Malaysian pair in quarterfinal

India's superstar badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024 came to halt after going down to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles quarterfinal on August 1.

Satwiksairaj-Chirag out of Paris Olympics

Satwiksairaj-Chirag couldn't capitalise on the first game lead and surrendered to the unseeded Malaysian pair with a scoreline of  21-13, 14-21, 16-21 to miss out on the semifinal spot.

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Earlier, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have created history by reaching the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, marking India's best-ever performance in men's badminton at the Summer Games. This achievement equals Parupalli Kashyap's quarterfinal finish at the 2012 London Olympics.

The world number one pair began their match strongly, dominating the first set 21-13. However, Malaysian opponents Soh Wooi Yik and Chia Aaron staged a remarkable comeback, clinching the second set 21-14 to force a deciding third game.

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Indian Badminton Duo's Heartbreaking Loss

The deciding third game was a closely contested battle. The Malaysian pair edged ahead early, leading 5-3, but Chirag Shetty's resilience brought the Indians back into contention. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the mid-game interval with a narrow lead, but their opponents proved to be too strong in the end. The Malaysians clinched the match 21-16, securing their place in the semifinals against world number one pair Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. Despite the disappointment of the men's doubles loss, India's badminton contingent remains strong. PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Lakshya Sen are all in contention for medals. Prannoy and Sen will face off in an all-Indian clash in the men's singles round of 16, while Sindhu takes on China's He Bingjiao later in the day.

India have secured a total of three medals in badminton at the Olympics so far. PV Sindhu has contributed two of these medals, a silver from the Rio 2016 Games and a bronze from Tokyo 2020, both in women's singles. Saina Nehwal made history by winning India's first badminton Olympic medal, a bronze at the London 2012 Games.

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