Shock exit for Satwik-Chirag as Asian Games title defence ends in first round

Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a major setback at the Asian Games, crashing out in the first round after losing to Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun on Friday.The Indian pair started strongly, winning the opening game 21-12, but failed to maintain their momentum. The world No. 36 Thai duo fought back to win the next two games 21-19, 21-14 in 64 minutes.Satwik and Chirag looked set for a routine victory after dominating the first game, but the Thais made the most of the Indians’ errors in the second. With the score at 18-19, Satwik’s return went into the net to give Thailand a game point. The Indians saved one, but Pakkapon produced a superb cross-court winner to level the match.The deciding game turned one-sided as Satwik and Chirag appeared increasingly fatigued. Their returns lacked their usual power, forcing the world’s best attacking pair into an unfamiliar defensive role as the Thais repeatedly unleashed smashes.The defeat came after a demanding schedule and limited recovery time. Satwik said the team had returned late from the previous night’s event.“Quite patchy... We know these situations will happen. It will get tense because it will be tricky playing continuously in the team event. We were here till 12 last night,” Satwik told reporters.He also admitted that the pair needed to improve their mental approach.“It’s the mental part. Whenever we are mentally free, I think no one can beat us. But when we are stuck anywhere, we give opponents a chance to beat us,” he said.Tanisha-Dhruv advanceThere was better news for India in mixed doubles, with Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila reaching the quarterfinals after two contrasting wins.They began with a comfortable 21-8, 21-7 victory over Maldives’ Nibal Ahmed and Aminath Nabeeha Abdul Razzaq in just 21 minutes. They were then pushed hard by Malaysia’s Shevon Jemie Lai and Soon Huat Goh but held their nerve to win 22-20, 24-22 in an hour.Tanisha and Dhruv will face China’s Yan Zhe Feng and Dongping Huang in the quarterfinals.World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and Unnati Hooda also won their opening-round matches. Hooda defeated North Korea’s Mi Song Yu 21-9, 21-10 in 30 minutes.India’s second men’s doubles pair, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, however, lost 14-21, 11-21 to second-seeded Indonesians Fajar Alfian and Muhammad ShohiStay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.