'We never really got going': Satwik-Chirag after 1st round loss at Singapore Open

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a shock defeat to world no. 34 Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestegaard in the opening round of the Singapore Open Super 750 Tuesday.

The Indian pair - the world no. 1 and the top seed - were handed out a 20-22, 18-21 defeat in 47 minutes.

After their defeat - their second straight first-round exit at the World Tour event after they fell to Akira Koga-Taichi Saito in the opener in 2023 - Satwik lamented that they could not win the first game from a strong position of 20-18 and conceded the lead to the Dane pair, who were on a four-point spree to claim a 22-20 win.

“We never really got going,” Satwik told BWF after the defeat. “We should have finished it off when we were leading the first game 20-18. Made some unforced errors and never recovered," he added.

This was Satwik and Chirag's first first-round exit on the World Tour since November last year when they lost to Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in a three-game contest at the Kumamoto Masters Japan.

'Kudus to them'

At the Singapore Open, the Indian duo never looked in control of the proceedings. They struggled at the net as Daniel and Mads narrowed the gap and drew errors from the Indian players, who played the shuttle into the net several times.

In the second game, Satwik and Chirag maintained a two-point lead till 15-13 but at 18-17 when Satwik ruffled the net Daniel and Mads quickly accumulated two points

Their ability to chop blocked the smashes hit by the Indian duo and rattle the Indians with an impeccable net game paid dividends.

Though Satwik and Chirag could save a match point, they never looked convincing against the confident Dane, who eventually prevailed 21-18 and burst into a wild celebration.

Mads said their diligent preparations for the match helped them secure the win.

“A lot of things went right, we had a solid game plan with our coach and followed it very well and were strict about the things we spoke about,” said the 22-year-old.

“We could have done better, a point here and a point there could have changed the rhythm. But kudos to them, they kept at it. Now we go back, forget this and prepare for the next tournament," said Chirag.

Satwik and Chirag will now head to the Indonesia Open Super 1000, a title they will look to defend after winning it in 2023.