Satwik-Chirag return with strong win at Singapore Open; Lakshya, Aakarshi crash out

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK

Singapore, May 28: India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, made a return to the BWF World Tour with a commanding straight-game victory at the 2025 Singapore Open Super 750 on Wednesday.

Playing their first competitive match in over two months due to injury setbacks, the duo overcame Malaysia’s Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal 21-16, 21-13 in the opening round. With this win, they advanced to the second round.

The extended injury break had seen Satwik and Chirag drop out of the world’s top 20 rankings for the first time in six years.

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However, it was a disappointing day for India in singles. Lakshya Sen was forced to retire during the deciding game against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei after splitting the first two games 21-15, 17-21 and trailing 5-13 in the third. This marks his third consecutive first-round exit in the 2025 season.

In women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap put up a fight by taking the opening game against China’s third seed Han Yue but eventually went down 21-17, 13-21, 7-21. Unnati Hooda also fell short, losing to Wang Zhi Yi of China.

In doubles action, Amrutha and Sonali advanced in women’s doubles after receiving a walkover against Japan’s Nami and Shida, while the Indian mixed doubles pair of Rohan and Ruthvika secured a win over Chen and Corbett of the USA.