New Delhi: Despite their injuries, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been playing high quality badminton, which has helped them maintain their top 10 ranking status. The world No.4 pair has been reaching the business end of tournaments regularly. However, crossing the final hurdle has become too tough for India’s ace pair.
The story was no different on Sunday as top seeds Rankireddy and Shetty lost the $500,000 Thailand Open final 12-21, 23-25 in 53 minutes to Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, extending their title drought to two years.
It was 24 months ago that Rankireddy and Shetty won the Super 500 event in Bangkok, regaining the title they won in 2019 to be catapulted to the elite circle of doubles badminton.
But since then they have been unable to win a final. It isn’t that the experienced pair isn’t playing well. They have been excelling in spite of injuries to both.
Apart from reaching multiple quarter-finals and semi-finals, Rankireddy and Shetty won bronze at the 2025 World Championships, becoming the only Indian combine to win multiple medals at the event, after their bronze in 2022. They then followed it up with two finals in successive weeks at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters to jump to world No.3.
Playing their first final of the year, Rankireddy and Shetty were the favourites holding a 4-0 record against Carnando and Marthin. But the Indonesians outplayed the Indians to win the title, two years after reuniting as a pair following Marthin’s recovery from a long-term knee injury that required surgery.
The opening game saw Rankireddy and Shetty struggle to find momentum and the Indonesians raced away to a 21-12 win. The Indians bounced back in the second game, fighting back strongly and taking it down to the wire where they saved four championship points before losing 23-25.
“We didn’t start that well. Shuttles were quite fast. We were trying to keep it low as much as possible but we were always on the back foot. In the second game we were taking the shuttle a lot higher and mixing it up with some flicks. But in the end, it wasn’t enough,” said Shetty.
“The shuttles were quite fast. When they were new, it was really fast and very difficult to adjust. The rallies were so fast you didn’t know how hard you need to hit to control it. It was quite fast today compared to the other days.”
It is still a creditable finish for the Indians who were out of action for close to two months due to Rankireddy’s recurring shoulder injury. They had pulled out midway through the Swiss Open in March and could not enter the Asia Championships which they won in 2023.
The world No.4 pair made a comeback at the Thomas Cup last month in Horsens, Denmark, helping India claim bronze by winning three of their four matches.
“Except today, the way we played, we are getting back that touch. We should believe more (in us) and be confident on court rather than playing 50-50. I feel we are 50% confident when we enter the court. One year back, we were always 90%. We are getting back that confidence,” said Rankireddy.
“Happy with how we played this week. It’s more a mental thing than physical. But things have started working better. Very soon, we will be on the winning side rather than being second. Slowly we are getting back the confidence, especially after Thomas Cup.”
The pair will skip next week’s Malaysia Masters and return to play Singapore Open (May 26-31), Indonesia Open (June 2-7) and Australian Open (June 9-14).
