Singapore Open 2024: World No. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stunned in the opening round
The Singapore Open 2024 kicked off the third of four weeks of thrilling back-to-back top-tier badminton action on Tuesday, May 28. However, it was a challenging start for Indian shuttlers at the USD 8,50,000 event.
On the opening day of this prestigious BWF Super 750 event, all Indian players in action faced early exits, marking a disappointing end to their campaigns. The most shocking upset came as India's top-seeded men's doubles pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, suffered a defeat.
Ranked world No. 1, Shetty and Rankireddy, who won the Thailand Open a couple of weeks ago, were expected to progress smoothly at the Singapore Open 2024. But the Indian pair were ousted by the 34th-ranked Danish duo of Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard in their first-round encounter. The match concluded in 47 minutes with a scoreline of 20-22, 18-21 in favor of the Danes.
Earlier in the day, India’s women's singles shuttler, Aakarshi Kashyap, also saw an end to her campaign in the tournament. Kashyap put on a valiant fight but narrowly lost to Thailand's Pornpicha Choeikeewong, 19-21, 20-22. In men's singles, Priyanshu Rajawat faced defeat against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, with a scoreline of 21-23, 19-21.
Meanwhile, India’s doubles pairs in action on the first day of the Singapore Open 2024 also went down in their respective matches. The women's doubles pair Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda played some incredible badminton, pushing their opponents Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun from Chinese Taipei to three games. But the Panda sisters ultimately went down in the decider and lost the match with a 12-21, 21-12, 13-21 scoreline.
In the mixed doubles category, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh went down to Hong Kong's Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Ng Tsz Yau, 8-21, 17-21.
Despite the early exits, there are many Indian shuttlers remaining in contention in the Singapore Open 2024. These include two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto.
Singapore Open 2024: Full results at the end of Day 1 (Indians only)
Men’s singles
Priyanshu Rajawat (India) lost to Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hong Kong) 21-23, 19-21
Men’s doubles
Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (India) lost to Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard (Denmark) 20-22, 18-21
Women’s singles
Aakarshi Kashyap (India) lost to Pornpicha Choeikeewong (Thailand) 19-21, 20-22
Women’s doubles
Rutaparna Panda/Swetaparna Panda (India) lost to Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun (Chinese Taipei) 12-21, 21-12, 13-21
Mixed doubles
Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh (India) lost to Lee Chun Hei Reginald/Ng Tsz Yau (Hong Kong) 8-21, 17-21