India suffered a major setback in badminton at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday as defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the opening round of the men's doubles event.
The fourth-seeded Indian pair went down to Thailand's Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun 21-12, 19-21, 14-21 in a contest that lasted one hour and eight minutes.
Satwik and Chirag made a strong start, taking the opening game by 21-12 in 20 minutes. However, the Thai pair gradually found their rhythm and fought back in the second game, winning it 21-19 after 24 minutes to force a decider.
The Indians could not regain their momentum in the final game, as Teeraratsakul and Sukphun quickly took control and wrapped up the decider 21-14 in 19 minutes to complete the upset.
The defeat ended Satwik and Chirag's bid to defend the gold medal they won at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The pair had entered the competition as one of India's biggest medal hopes after being seeded fourth in the men's doubles draw.
The early exit also comes after India secured a bronze medal in the men's team event, following a 1-3 defeat to China in the semifinal. Satwik and Chirag's first-round exit means India have now lost one of their major medal contenders in the men's doubles event.
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Satwik and Chirag had created history at the previous Asian Games by becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to win badminton gold at the continental event.
India had also won three badminton medals at Hangzhou - men's doubles gold, men's team silver and HS Prannoy's men's singles bronze.
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