World No. 2 Satwikairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the quarter-finals of men’s doubles at the Badminton World Championships on Friday, August 25. The Indian stars lost to 11th seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark 18-21, 19-21 in 46 minutes in Copenhagen, Denmark.
It was a disappointing result for Satwik and Chirag as they were among the favourites to finish on the podium in the World Championships. Satwik and Chirag saved a match point in the second game but Astrup and Rasmussen did not let slip the second opportunity to seal the match and confirm their 2nd medal at the world badminton event.
Buoyed by the home support, Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen put on a sensational show and were high on energy throughout the contest to down the Indian duo who have been sensational in major tournaments recently. The left-right combination of the Danish pair also made it difficult for Satwik and Chirag with Astrup finding winners with precise angles.
It was Astrup and Rasmussen’s 6th win in 8 meetings against Satwik and Chirag as the Danes remain one of the few pairs who have a positive head-to-head record against the Indian stars.
Satwik and Chirag won the bronze at the World Championships last year and were in sensational form in the lead-up to the tournament in Copenhagen. The Indian star rose to their career-best 2nd ranking in the BWF charts after winning a historic Gold at the Badminton Asia Championships, winning a Super 1000 tournament in Indonesia in June and the Super 500 tournament in Korea in July.
India’s hopes of finishing on the podium rested heavily on Satwik-Chirag and HS Prannoy after the early exits of their former champion PV SIndhu and former medalist Kidambi Srikanth. Lakshya Sen’s defeat in the Round of 16 came as a further setback.
