Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 25 (ANI): Defending champions Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a shock first-round exit in the men's doubles badminton event at the Asian Games after losing to Thailand's Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Indian pair, who started strongly, went down 21-12, 19-21, 14-21 in their Round of 32 clash.
Satwik and Chirag dominated the opening game, taking an early 11-5 lead before maintaining their advantage to close out the game 21-12 in 20 minutes.
The Indian duo looked in control with sharp movement and quick rallies, keeping their Thai opponents under pressure throughout the opening game.
However, the momentum shifted in the second game. The Thai pair briefly moved ahead 8-7 before the Indians levelled at 8-all. Satwik and Chirag later recovered from an 11-9 deficit to make it 11-all, but Sukphun and Pakkapon continued to put pressure on the Indian pair.
The Thai duo eventually extended their lead to 17-14 and held their nerve to take the second game 21-19, forcing a decider.
Satwik and Chirag struggled to regain their control in the third game as the Thai pair continued to play aggressively. Sukphun and Pakkapon opened up an 18-14 lead and went on to win the decider 21-14, completing a major upset.
The defeat brought the Asian Games campaign of the defending champions to an early end in the men's doubles event.
Satwik and Chirag had entered the competition as one of India's leading medal contenders but could not recover after surrendering their opening-game advantage.
The Thai pair's victory secured their passage into the next round, while the Indian duo exited the competition after a three-game battle.
On the other hand, Dhruv Kapila & Tanisha Crasto move to the QFs of Individual Event. They beat WR10 Goh Soon Huat & Lai Shevon Jamie (Malaysia) 22-20, 24-22 They will play WR1 Feng Yang Zhe & Huang Dong Ping (China) on September 27th.
Meanwhile, India enjoyed a strong medal-winning day at the Asian Games, with shooting producing the country's first gold medal in the sport. Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, while Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar secured silver in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions team event. Tomar and Niraj later finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the individual final.
India also confirmed medals in table tennis and squash. Diya Chitale and Manush Shah reached the mixed doubles semifinals after beating Hong Kong's Wong Chun Ting-Doo Hoi Kem, while Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar also secured a mixed doubles medal in squash. Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh advanced to their respective squash singles semifinals. However, Veer Chotrani lost to Pakistan's Muhammad Irfan in the men's singles quarterfinals.
In kabaddi, both Indian teams booked places in the finals, with the women's side beating Nepal and the men's team defeating Thailand. India's women's hockey team also defeated Japan 3-1 in their Pool B match. In badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their men's doubles opener, while Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto and Unnati Hooda also progressed.
Several Indian athletes advanced in swimming, surfing and canoe sprint, while Sajan Prakash qualified for the men's 200m butterfly final and Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Patil advanced in the 200m backstroke. India also saw exits in fencing, table tennis, swimming, canoe sprint and esports, including Satwik-Chirag's later shock first-round men's doubles defeat to Thailand. (ANI)
Asian Games 2026: Thailand's Sukphun-Pakkapon stun defending champions Satwik-Chirag in R32
