Singapore, May 29 (FN Agency) In a surprising turn of events, India’s top-seeded badminton duo, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, were ousted in the opening round of the Singapore Badminton Open 2024 BWF Super 750 tournament on Tuesday. The world No. 1 pair faced a stunning defeat against Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard, ranked 34th, with scores of 22-20, 21-18 in a match lasting 47 minutes. This marked the first encounter between the two pairs on the BWF World Tour. Chirag and Satwik, aiming for their third title of the year after victories in the French and Thailand Open, started sluggishly, trailing 4-9 early on. Despite a valiant comeback to lead 21-18, the Indian duo could not sustain their momentum.
The Danish pair remained composed under pressure, saving two game points and ultimately taking the lead. The second game was a closely contested battle until 16-all, where Lundgaard and Vestergaard managed to pull ahead, sealing the unexpected win. Lundgaard and Vestergaard will next face the People’s Republic of China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, who previously won the Thailand Masters and were finalists at the German Open earlier this year. Chirag and Satwik’s early exit capped a disappointing opening day for Indian shuttlers at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
In the women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap narrowly lost to Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong with scores of 21-19, 22-20. Similarly, in the men’s singles, Priyanshu Rajawat, ranked 29th in the world, was defeated by the 18th-ranked Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China, 23-21, 21-19. In women’s doubles, Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda extended their match against Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun to three games but ultimately lost 21-12, 12-21, 21-13.In mixed doubles, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh were defeated by Hong Kong China’s Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Ng Tsz Yau, 21-8, 21-17. On a brighter note, Singapore Open 2022 champion PV Sindhu, along with Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, and HS Prannoy, will commence their campaigns on Wednesday.