India's top men's doubles pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, faced an early exit from the Singapore Open 2023 as they were defeated by Japan's Akira Koga and Taichi Saito in the first round on Wednesday.
Similarly, in the women's doubles category, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, ranked No. 15 in the world, faced disappointment as they were defeated by Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong China, ranked No. 28.
Despite being seeded fifth and ranked world No. 5, the Indian duo of Shetty & Rankireddy succumbed to the unseeded Japanese pair, ranked No. 24, in a thrilling three-game match lasting one hour and eight minutes. The final score stood at 18-21, 21-14, 18-21, in favour of the Japanese players.
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The competition was intense in the first game but with the scores tied at 16-16, Koga & Saito raised their game and won five of the last seven points, securing a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second game, the Indian duo made a comeback with a dominant performance, but their efforts were in vain as they suffered a close defeat in the final game, leading to their elimination from the tournament.
Meanwhile, Gopichand & Jolly fell short, losing with a scoreline of 14-21, 21-18, 19-21 in their opening round of the BWF Super 750 event.
After losing the first game, the Indian women’s pair, who won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games last year, showed immense grit and determination to win the second game and level things. However, in the third game, they fizzled out when it mattered the most and lost 19-21.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Priyanshu Rajawat are the only Indians to still alive in the tournament. While Srikanth will face Chia Lee of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16, the Rajawat will lock horns against third see Kodai Naraoka of Japan on Thursday.
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