Satwik-Chirag suffer shock loss; Gayatri-Treesa go down fighting

Third seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a second-round exit from the India Open 2026   tournament after going down in an epic three-game battle on Thursday at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.

World No. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost 25-27, 23-21, 21-19 to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita, 22nd in the men’s doubles rankings.

In the opener, Satwik-Chirag led 11-7 at the interval before the Japanese shuttlers fought back and took the game into a tie-break after the Indian pair failed to convert two game points.

Both pairs had opportunities to win the tie-break, but eventually it was Satwik-Chirag who managed to hold their nerve and take the opener.

The second game saw Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita lead 11-7 at the interval, but this time, it was Satwik-Chirag who battled their way back and forced a tie-break, which the Indians ultimately lost.

Satwik-Chirag also managed to push the decider deep before Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita converted their very first match point to seal victory.

MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan also lost their men’s doubles second round match 21-15, 21-15 against Paris 2024 silver medallists Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang of the People’s Republic of China.

India’s women’s doubles campaign also ended after Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand suffered a gruelling 20-22, 24-22, 23-21 defeat to the seventh-seeded Chinese duo Li Yijing and Luo Xumin.