Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded fifth, lost 21-12, 15-21, 19-21 to China’s He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu in the Denmark Open first round. Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda also went out on Wednesday, leaving Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma among India’s survivors.
Odense, Denmark: One game in, it looked like routine business for India’s best doubles pair. By the end of the hour, Satwik and Chirag were out of a Super 750 event in the opening round, beaten by a Chinese pair ranked 37th in the world, and Wednesday had turned into another difficult day for Indian badminton.
A game lead that disappeared
Satwik and Chirag won the first game 21-12 with little fuss. The Chinese pair then found their range, took the second 21-15 and stayed in front deep into a tight decider, which they closed out 21-19. It was the first time the Indians had lost to He and Ren in four meetings. For a pair seeded fifth, the defeat was a damaging one, and it left India without its leading doubles team early in the tournament.
Ayush and Unnati fall in three games
The singles draws offered no consolation. Ayush Shetty took the second game against Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan but lost 11-21, 21-13, 10-21 in an hour and four minutes. Unnati Hooda pushed China’s Han Qianxi hard in a match that lasted an hour and six minutes. She lost the opening game 21-23, won the second 21-16 and then dropped the decider 16-21.
They followed PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, who both lost in three games on Tuesday, Sindhu to Germany’s Yvonne Li and Lakshya to Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei. It was a sobering contrast to the home World Championships in New Delhi, where Satwik and Chirag came from a game down to reach the quarter-finals and Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand went on to a historic bronze.
Srikanth and Tanvi still standing
India’s two winners of the opening days kept their hopes alive in tight matches. Kidambi Srikanth beat France’s Arnaud Merkle 22-20, 21-19 and will face France’s Alex Lanier next. Tanvi Sharma came through a three-game contest against Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira, 21-17, 16-21, 21-19, and meets Yvonne Li in the next round. Ashmita Chaliha, Devika Sihag, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, and Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda were scheduled to play later on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s results (round of 32, Denmark Open, BWF Super 750, 14 October 2026): He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu (CHN) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (IND, 5) 12-21, 21-15, 21-19. Alwi Farhan (INA) bt Ayush Shetty (IND) 21-11, 13-21, 21-10. Han Qianxi (CHN) bt Unnati Hooda (IND) 23-21, 16-21, 21-16.
