India’s top doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, retired midway through their first-round match at the Indonesia Open, a prestigious Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta. The Indian pair were trailing Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai of Malaysia 6-11 when Satwik stopped the match, pointing to his right shoulder. It was the first time the World No. 4 pair had retired due to injury this season.
“Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the POLYTRON Indonesia Open 2026 due to the former’s injury. The pair will now focus on recovery and rehabilitation as they prepare for the important tournaments ahead. We wish Satwik a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing the duo back on court soon,” the BAI said in a statement.
Satwik and Chirag headed into the Indonesia Open just two days after winning the Singapore Open. On Sunday, Satwik and Chirag defeated Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Sohibul Fikri in a gruelling three-setter that lasted one hour and 13 minutes. It was their first title on the tour in close to two years, coming a week after they reached the final of the Thailand Open.
Such is the gruelling nature of the badminton circuit that players, even the biggest names, rarely get any rest as they hop from city to city for tournaments. Satwik and Chirag have been busy throughout the ongoing Asian leg, but it will be important for the pair to focus on recovery, especially in the lead-up to the World Championships, which will be hosted in Delhi in August, and the Asian Games.
Only on Monday, Satwik spoke about the importance of respecting the body, trying to improve, finding peak form and managing injury concerns.
“Injury is not something only I have; nobody’s career is perfect throughout. For a fact, I realised that you should respect your body,” he said during an interaction with the media after the Singapore Open triumph.
“Especially with my style of play being more attacking, once in a while you’ll miss bigger tournaments. You have to brush it off, focus, get your 100 per cent at the bigger tournaments, peak at the right time and manage your body.
“I think it has been pretty good after the Olympics. I’ve been managing quite well and getting into shape. There have been a few issues here and there, but that’s fine.”
Meanwhile, Rohan Kapoor and Shivani Ruthvika Gadde stunned the World No. 20 pairing of Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang of Chinese Taipei in the first round of the mixed doubles. They clinched a 21-14, 21-14 victory to storm into the second round.
Later in the day, the likes of Ayush Shetty and HS Prannoy will begin their campaigns in Jakarta.
It was a mixed day for India on Tuesday, with PV Sindhu the lone singles shuttler to progress to the second round. Both Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth were shown the door in the opening round of the prestigious tournament.
– Ends
