Satwik’s shoulder niggle ends Indonesia Open run; Sindhu enters second round
Days after historic Singapore Open triumph, world No. 4 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty retire from opening round in Jakarta due to a recurring shoulder issue.
Jakarta: India’s premier men’s doubles badminton pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, bowed out of the Indonesia Open on Wednesday after retiring midway through their first-round match due to Satwiksairaj’s recurring right shoulder injury.
The world No. 4 duo were trailing 6-11 in the opening game against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai when Satwiksairaj indicated discomfort in his right shoulder, which has troubled him recently. Realising the risk, the Indian pair decided to retire from the contest, handing their opponents a spot in the next round.
“Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the Indonesia Open 2026 due to the former’s injury.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 Badminton Association of India (BAI) said in a statement.
Satwiksairaj’s persistent shoulder issue had previously forced the reigning Asian Games champions to withdraw from the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year. The injury setback comes just days after the duo scripted history by bouncing back from a game down to defeat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16, becoming the first Indian men’s pair to clinch the Singapore Open title.
On a brighter note for the Indian contingent at the BWF Super 1000 event, the mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde started their campaign strongly. They upset the world No. 20 pairing of Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling-Fang from Chinese Taipei to book their place in the second round.
In women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who returned to the top 10 of the BWF world rankings this week for the first time since October 2023, looked in fine touch. She defeated Thailand’s world No. 19 Busanan Ongbamrungphan to advance.
There was further cheer in the men’s doubles category as the Indian combination of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun staged an impressive upset, defeating Malaysia’s Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong—the latter a silver medallist from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
However, Tuesday brought disappointment for India in the men’s singles draw, where world No. 10 Lakshya Sen crashed out of the tournament after a straight-games opening-round loss to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan.