Nagoya (Japan): India’s hopes in men’s doubles badminton at the Asian Games 2026 suffered a setback as defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out of the competition in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday.
India’s best doubles pair suffered a 21-12, 19-21, 14-21 defeat against Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun in the opening round, making a premature exit from the competition on a mixed day for the country.
Satwik and Chirag made a strong start and comfortably took the opening game, but the Thai pair fought back to win the second before completing the comeback in the decider.
But hopes recovered a bit as Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals, while world championship medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the pre-quarterfinals.
Tanisha and Dhruv produced a fighting performance to overcome Malaysia’s Shevon Jemie Lai and Soon Huat Goh 22-20, 24-22 in a tightly contested second-round encounter.
The Indian pair held their nerve in the crucial moments of both games, edging the opening game 22-20 before sealing the contest 24-22 in the second to secure their place in the last eight. They will next face China’s Yan Zhe Feng and Dongping Huang in the quarterfinals.
Treesa and Gayatri also advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s doubles after beating Hong Kong, China’s Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan 21-16, 16-21, 21-16.
The Indian duo started strongly and took the opening game 21-16, but their opponents responded by winning the second game 21-16 to force a decider.
Treesa and Gayatri regained control in the third game and closed out the match 21-16 to move into the next round.
However, India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan and R. Arjun Madathil were knocked out of the men’s doubles competition after losing 14-21 and 11-21 to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
The Indian pair was unable to sustain their challenge against the Indonesian combination and went down in straight games.
Earlier, Unnati Hooda advanced to the second round of the women’s singles event with a comfortable 21-9, 21-10 victory over North Korea’s Mi Song Yu.
Unnati controlled the contest from the outset and did not allow her opponent to settle into the match, wrapping up the opening game 21-9 before completing a straight-game victory in the second.
(IANS)
