Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost 19-21, 21-18, 13-21 to France’s Toma Junior and Christo Popov in the French Open first round on Tuesday. Tanvi Sharma and Ashmita Chaliha reached the last 16, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also went out.
Tremblay-en-France, France: Toma Junior Popov had already beaten the world number one, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, when he came back on court beside his younger brother, and the home crowd at the Arena Grand Paris stayed loud for the second act. Satwik and Chirag, who beat these same opponents in Shenzhen on the way to the China Masters title in September, could not quieten it.
A decider that slipped away
Popov’s earlier win had been a comeback. He lost the first game 9-21 to Vitidsarn, then took the next two 21-14, 21-15 to beat the world number one. “It gives me a lot of confidence, but it’s only one win,” he said afterwards, according to the BWF. The doubles tie with his brother, played later that day, showed the confidence had not drained away.
The Popovs took the opening game 21-19, and the Indians answered by winning the second 21-18. The decider belonged to the home pair, who pulled clear to win it 21-13 in a match that lasted a little over an hour. It was the French brothers’ first win over the Indian pair.
The result extends a difficult run. A week earlier, Satwik and Chirag were beaten in the Denmark Open first round by China’s He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu, and Paris brought the same early exit at another Super 750 event.
Treesa and Gayatri fall in straight games
India’s women’s doubles hopes ended just as quickly. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the World Championships bronze medallists, lost 17-21, 18-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chih-Chun and Yang Chu Yun.
The defeat followed their quarter-final loss in Odense to Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan last Friday.
Tanvi and Ashmita keep the singles flag flying
The evening was kinder to India’s women’s singles players. Tanvi Sharma beat her compatriot Isharani Baruah 21-12, 21-12 in 32 minutes to reach the round of 16. Ashmita Chaliha needed 39 minutes to see off China’s Han Qianxi 21-18, 24-22, holding her nerve in a tight second game.
Both results matter for confidence. Tanvi reached the Denmark Open quarter-finals last week, where she lost to the world number one, An Se-young, and Paris gives her the chance to push on from that run.
Wednesday brings the rest of the Indian squad
The remaining Indian entrants start on Wednesday. PV Sindhu, Devika Sihag and Unnati Hooda begin their women’s singles campaigns, Lakshya Sen opens in the men’s singles, and Ayush Shetty meets Kidambi Srikanth in an all-Indian first-round tie. Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda complete the Indian line-up in the women’s doubles.
French Open (BWF Super 750), Arena Grand Paris, Tuesday 20 October 2026, first round: Toma Junior Popov/Christo Popov (FRA) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (IND) 21-19, 18-21, 21-13. Lin Chih-Chun/Yang Chu Yun (TPE) bt Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand (IND) 21-17, 21-18. Tanvi Sharma (IND) bt Isharani Baruah (IND) 21-12, 21-12. Ashmita Chaliha (IND) bt Han Qianxi (CHN) 21-18, 24-22.
