According to initial reports, India’s top men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has withdrawn from the India Open due to a groin complaint suffered by the former. In the second round of the tournament, the duo was set to face China’s Yu Chen Liu and Xuan Yi Ou are the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi. Satwik-Chirag had previously defeated Scotland’s Grimley twins in the first round of the event, winning 21-13, 21-15.
“India’s top men’s doubles team #SatChi has regretfully withdrawn from the event owing to an injury. It’s a sad day for all of us!” On Thursday, the BAI issued a tweet.
With the withdrawal of the duo, Lakshya Sen (men’s singles) and Saina Nehwal (women’s singles) are the only major championship contenders at the India Open. Another Indian men’s pair currently competing is Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnu Goud Panjala, who will face Liang Weiking and Wang Chang of China in the second round later today. Their draw, however, is extremely challenging; even if they win today, they will face Indonesia’s famous minions,’ Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
Earlier in the day, the minions overcame Chinese duo X Ren and Qiang Tang in a three-game thriller.
In the second round, Lakshya will compete against Rasmus Genke of Denmark, while Saina Nehwal will compete against Chen Yu Fei of China.
On Day 2, Indian fans were dealt another blow when Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out in the first round in straight games by World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen. The Danish star had won the opening game 21-14, but Srikanth came back brilliantly in the second, taking a 14-6 lead at one point. However, a string of unforced errors eventually cost Srikanth the championship, and the Indian was forced to withdraw. Earlier in the day, HS Prannoy had suffered a three-game loss against compatriot Lakshya.
