Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Lose In First Round Of Japan Masters
Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faltered in the opening round to make a shocking exit from the Japan Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Tuesday. The top-seeded Indian combination went down 21-16 18-21 16-21 to world number 21 Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei in a 63-minute match. Satwik and Chirag, ranked world number 5, had defeated Lu and Yang at the French Open final last year but they couldn't get on top of the Taiwanese pair, who dished out a spirited performance to outwit the Indians. The Indians erased an initial 0-3 deficit to grab a 11-7 lead. Lu and Yang clawed back at 13-13 but Satwik and Chirag managed to keep their nose ahead before taking the opening game with four straight points.
