Sydney (Australia), November 22 (ANI): India’s males’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, confronted a stunning exit from the Australian Open 2025 after shedding to Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Fajar Alfian on Friday.
The top-seeded Indian duo, ranked third in males’s doubles, fell 21-19, 21-15 to the Thirteenth-ranked Indonesian pair in a 50-minute conflict, as per Olympics.com.
With Satwik-Chirag out, Lakshya Sen stays the only Indian contender within the BWF Super 500 occasion, having defeated fellow Indian Ayush Shetty in Sydney’s Olympic Boulevard to succeed in the semifinals.
Despite being a comparatively new pairing, Alfian–who has twice gained bronze on the World Championships with Muhammad Rian Ardianto–and Fikri have rapidly risen in prominence since becoming a member of forces on the Japan Open in July. The duo has already gained the China Open Super 1000 and completed runners-up on the Denmark, Korea and French Opens in a brief span.
In the match, Satwik-Chirag began strongly, racing to a 7-2 lead within the first recreation. However, the Indonesians fought again, levelling at 16-all. The Indians appeared set to take the sport at 19-17, however Alfian and Fikri clinched 4 consecutive factors to safe the opener.
In the second recreation, Satwik-Chirag led by one level on the interval, however the Indonesians dominated after the break to comfortably win the sport and the match.
This defeat was the second consecutive 2025 BWF World Tour occasion the place Satwik-Chirag have been eradicated by an Indonesian duo; that they had beforehand misplaced within the French Open first spherical to Ardianto and Rahmat Hidayat in October.
In males’s singles, Paris 2024 semi-finalist Lakshya Sen, seeded seventh and ranked 14th, overcame world No. 32 Ayush Shetty 23-21, 21-11 in a 52-minute quarterfinal. The opening recreation was intently contested, with each shuttlers saving a recreation level every, however Lakshya edged forward. The second recreation was much more one-sided, as Lakshya prolonged his head-to-head document towards Shetty to 2-0. Ayush Shetty, who gained the US Open, is the one Indian to have claimed a BWF Tour title this yr. (ANI)