Indian Duo Satwik-Chirag Bow Out of All England Badminton Championships

The top-ranked Indian men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, faced disappointment in the pre-quarterfinals of the prestigious All England Badminton Championships. They succumbed to a straight-game defeat against Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia. Despite their recent triumph at the French Open, the Indian duo couldn't sustain the pressure from their Indonesian counterparts, who demonstrated remarkable skill throughout the match.

Reflecting on their performance, Chirag acknowledged the challenge posed by their opponents, admitting to feeling the strain from consecutive tournaments. He emphasized the importance of not underestimating their adversaries' abilities. This setback marked their first early exit since November the previous year, a departure from their recent streak of reaching finals.

Although Satwik and Chirag had previously dominated their Indonesian opponents, the dynamics shifted in this encounter. Satwik noted the opponents' improved strategies and attributed their loss to a series of erroneous decisions on their part. Despite the disappointment, the Indian pair remains determined to defend their title at the upcoming Asia Championships in April.

In women's doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa also faced elimination in the round of 16. Their defeat against Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu of China dashed their hopes of progressing further in the tournament. Meanwhile, in men's singles, Lakshya Sen, the 2022 runner-up, advanced to the quarterfinals after a hard-fought victory over Anders Antonsen. However, PV Sindhu, the double Olympic medallist, experienced a disappointing loss to her longtime rival, An Se Young of South Korea, marking the end of her campaign at the All England Championships.