Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty suffer shock first-round exit at All England Open

India’s top doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a shocking exit in the first round of the All England Open badminton championship in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their men’s doubles opener in straight games at the Utilita Arena. The Indians, ranked fourth in the men’s doubles, lost 23-21, 21-12 against the world No. 33 team of Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai of Malaysia.

Satwik-Chirag began the contest in style and raced to an 11-6 lead at the interval before the Malaysian duo started to chip away at the Indian duo’s advantage to make it 16-all.

Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai, the 2024 junior world champions, then took the lead and forced Satwik-Chirag to save two match points before the Indian pair eventually conceded the opener in a tie-break.

With momentum on their side, Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai went on to dominate the second game, leading 11-7 at the interval and conceding just five more points en route to sealing the match.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s ouster brought an end to India’s men’s doubles campaign at the All England Open. The women’s singles campaign at the BWF Super 1000 tournament also ended early on Tuesday after both Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda lost their respective openers.

Meanwhile, India’s mixed doubles duo Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde and Ayush Shetty, the 2025 US Open Champion, are expected to be in action later in the day.

The opening day of the All England Open saw India’s Lakshya Sen stun world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of the People’s Republic of China to enter the second round. He will face Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong China in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.