Asian Games 2026: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty knocked out in opening round

NEW DELHI: India suffered a major setback in badminton at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday as defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the opening round.

The fourth-seeded Indian pair, who were among the country's leading medal hopes, were stunned by Thailand's Pakkapan Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun, losing 21-12, 19-21, 14-21 in a contest that lasted one hour and eight minutes.

The defeat ended Satwik and Chirag's bid to defend the gold medal they won at the previous edition of the Asian Games.

The Indian duo made an impressive start and appeared to be in control after taking the opening game 21-12 in 20 minutes.

However, Teeraratsakul and Sukphun gradually found their rhythm and turned the contest around.

The Thai pair kept the pressure on the Indians in the second game and eventually edged it 21-19 after 24 minutes to force a decider.

Satwik and Chirag were unable to regain their momentum in the final game.

The Thai pair quickly took control and completed the upset in just 19 minutes, winning the decider 21-14.

The Indian pair's inability to close out the match after winning the opening game proved costly as the Thai shuttlers produced a composed finish to seal one of the major upsets of the badminton competition.

The early exit is a disappointing start to India's individual badminton campaign after the men's team secured a bronze medal in the team competition.

Satwik and Chirag had entered the men's doubles draw as the fourth seeds and were expected to challenge for another podium finish after their gold-medal success at the previous Asian Games at Hangzhou.

Instead, their campaign ended in the first round, leaving India without one of its biggest medal contenders in the men's doubles event.