India's top-ranked pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down fighting against Denamrak's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the men's double events of quarter-final match of the ongoing BWF World Championships 2023 on Friday, August 25.
The 2nd seeded Indian pair suffered a narrow 21-18, 21-19 defeat in two straight sets against the hosts' 11th-ranked pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen at Royal Arena Court 1. Kim and Anders were quick in the early stages of the game with a 5-1 lead but Satwik and Chiraz recovered well to display fighting spirit.
But the Danish players stood strong against Satwik and Chirag's attack and claimed the first set by a three-point margin. Satwik and Chirag kept the fight on in the second set to level the game but their opponents first reached 21 points to avoid the game going into the third set.
Indian pair was trailing the first set by 3-5 and then made a stunning comeback to turn the scoreline to 9-5. Indian pair kept their opponent in check but hit the net too many times under pressure. Satwik grabbed attention with his attacking skills to keep India alive with a 15-18 lead but once again the Indian pair threw the lead under pressure.
In the second set, Kim and Anders were comfortably leading the game by 13-8 but Satwik-Chirag produced another brilliance to make a strong comeback. Kim conceded too many shots on the net as the Indian pair levelled the game to 15-15 but the Danish stars claimed the set after two huge mistakes from Satwik near the end.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the bronze medal in the last edition of the tournament and were tipped to reach the finals this year. India's hopes for the medal now depend solely on HS Prannoy who faces the world no.1 Victor Axelsen in the men's singles quarter-final match on Friday.
