India’s disappointing campaign at the Denmark Open 2026 continued on Wednesday as star men’s doubles combination Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashed out in the opening round of the BWF Super 750 tournament.
The world No. 5 Indian pair suffered a 12-21, 21-15, 21-19 defeat against China’s He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu, ranked 37th in the world.
Satwik and Chirag made a strong start, comfortably taking the opening game. However, the Chinese duo responded in the second game, building an 11-4 advantage at the interval before forcing the contest into a decider.
The final game remained closely contested, with the Chinese pair holding a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval. They maintained their advantage in the closing stages to secure the victory, registering their first win over the Indian combination in four meetings.
Earlier, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen had also suffered first-round defeats on Tuesday, adding to India’s struggles at the prestigious tournament.
India’s Ayush Shetty also bowed out of the men’s singles competition after losing 21-11, 13-21, 21-10 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan. After comfortably winning the first game, Farhan faced a stronger challenge from Ayush in the second, with the Indian leading 11-8 at the interval before levelling the match.
However, Farhan regained control in the deciding game to register his fourth victory in six meetings against Ayush.
Kidambi Srikanth remains India’s sole representative in the men’s singles draw.
In the women’s singles, Unnati Hooda also exited in the first round after going down 23-21, 16-21, 21-16 to China’s Han Qianxi.
India’s campaign in the women’s singles and doubles events will continue, with Ashmita Chaliha and Devika Sihag scheduled to compete in singles. The women’s doubles pairs of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, and Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, are also set to take the court.
