In a shocking defeat in the Singapore Open, world no.1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost to Denmark pair Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard. Rankireddy and Shetty crashed out in the first round as they lost to the World no.34 in straight sets in men's doubles competition.
In the clash that lasted 45 minutes, the in-form Indian pair who won two titles and registered two runner-up finishes, were dominated by Lundgaard and Vestergaard. They are favourites for India to win a gold medal at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
They were trailing 6-11 in the first game. They managed to make a comeback after a few closely-fought rallies to make it 17-17 but lost the first game 20-22.
In the second game, the Danish duo was leading 6-3. The rallies were intense but the Danes did not give the Indian pair an inch. They had three match points and managed to win by 21-18 to cause an upset.
More losses for India in Singapore Open
It was not a productive day for the Indian contingent in Singapore. Aakarshi Kashyap lost 6-21 15-21 to Thailand's Pornpicha Choeikeewong. Priyanshu Rajawat put up a spirited display but lost 21-23, 19-21 to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu.
The women's doubles pair Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda lost 12-21 21-12 13-21 to Chinese Taipei's Chang Ching Hui and Yang Chin Tun. They turned out to be the only Indians who won a game in the opening round before crashing out.
In the mixed doubles event, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 8-21 17-21 to Hong Kong's Lee Chun Hei Reginand and Ng Tsz Yau in mixed doubles.
Top shuttlers in action on May 29
Now, India's top shuttlers PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will have a chance to prove themselves on May 29 in their respective opening rounds of the campaign.
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