Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty Reach Quarterfinals at Indonesia Open
Men's Doubles Success Amidst Mixed Results
India's leading men's doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, successfully progressed to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament on Thursday. They achieved this by overcoming the Danish pair of Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard, ranked 16th in the world, in a challenging match that lasted 68 minutes, finishing with scores of 16-21, 21-18, 22-20.
Having recently reached the semifinals at the Singapore Open Super 750, Satwik and Chirag are now the only Indian representatives remaining in the tournament.
Next, they will face the Malaysian seventh seeds, Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee.
Reflecting on their performance, Satwik remarked, "Today felt like one of those days where we just weren’t at our best. It wasn’t about the strategy being wrong — it was more that we were giving away points. If you look back, nearly 15 to 20 points came from our own mistakes. They didn’t win those points — we handed them over."
He continued, "In the first game, it was 15-all, and then suddenly it slipped to 21-15. I just felt like we weren’t focused enough — like we weren’t really there today. But even then, we kept believing, taking it one point at a time."
The coaches encouraged them to stay calm, reminding them that it was okay to lose, which helped them maintain composure and focus on their game.
In contrast, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu faced disappointment in the women's singles, losing to world number 8 Pornpawee Chochuwong from Thailand in the second round. Sindhu had a promising start but ultimately fell short, losing 22-20, 10-21, 18-21 after leading 15-11 in the deciding game.
The day was challenging for the rest of the Indian team as well, with Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, along with the women's doubles team of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, also exiting in the second round.
Sathish and Aadya were defeated 7-21, 12-21 by the sixth-seeded Thai pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in just 25 minutes, while Gayatri and Treesa fought hard but lost 13-21, 22-24 to Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in 46 minutes.
Satwik and Chirag, competing in only their second tournament since returning from injury, initially struggled against the Danish team, who excelled at the net and dominated short rallies. The Indians fell behind 6-10 but managed to level the score with four consecutive points, although the Danes secured the first game.
The second game was closely contested, with the Indians applying pressure and eventually forcing a decider after scoring five straight points from a 14-14 tie.
In the final game, they surged to a 5-1 lead, but the Danes fought back to equalize at 8-8. The match remained tight, with the Indians trailing slightly at the mid-game interval. However, they managed to level the score at 19-19, and after a tense finish, Satwik sealed the victory with a precise return that sparked celebrations.
In the women's singles, Sindhu initially appeared to be in control after overcoming a 10-16 deficit to win the first game. However, a series of errors in the decider allowed Chochuwong to capitalize, winning five consecutive points. Sindhu reflected on her performance, stating, "I think I should have converted it to win... but overall, I’m happy with my performance. A lot to learn from this match and this tournament as well and prepare for the next one."