Asian Games 2023 gold medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the ongoing 2023 Japan Masters Super 500 on Tuesday. Rankireddy and Shetty were defeated by Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei. Rankireddy and Shetty, who had momentarily risen to the top of the Badminton World Federation rankings after clinching their Asian Games title, were defeated 21-16, 18-21, 16-21 in a battle that lasted for 63 minutes.

The Indian duo began the match hesitantly, down 0-3 in the first game before gradually finding their rhythm. They tied the game at four apiece before sprinting to an 11-7 advantage at the first mid-game break. The Taiwanese duo then came back strongly to tie the game at 13-13, but Rankireddy and Shetty had enough left in the tank to win the first game 21-16.

The shuttlers engaged in some spectacular rallies in the early stages of the second game until Yang and Lu took an 11-9 lead at the interval. Following the half, the Indians made one after the other as Shetty was repeatedly targeted at his body and Rankireddy was forced to play outside of his comfort zone by the World No 21 pair, who forced a decider by winning the second game 21-18.

The third game followed the same pattern, with the two teams slugging it out. Lu and Yang won four of the following five points to make the score 7-10. The Chinese Taipei pair then capitalized on their newfound momentum racing to a good lead before the Indians rallied back only to trail 10-11. Rankireddy and Shetty looked like a pale shadow of themselves after the change of sides as Lu and Yang extended their lead to 18-21 before wrapping up the match 21-16. The first-round exit comes as a huge blow for the Indian pair in their bid to qualify for the 2023 BWF World Tour Finals. They are currently placed 13th in the HSBC Race to Finals rankings with 67,020 points accumulated during the 2023 season so far.

Lakshya Sen will kick off his campaign against a familiar rival from the class of 2018 in Kodai Naraoka on Wednesday. HS Prannoy, who earned a historic bronze medal in Hangzhou, is back in action after a back injury layoff. India’s No.1 shuttler had been absent from the European swing. And now, he will take on Lee Cheuk Yiu.