Satwik-Chirag suffer shock exit from Australian Open; Lakshya Sen keeps India's hopes alive

Sydney (Australia), November 22 (ANI): India's men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, faced a surprising exit from the Australian Open 2025 after losing to Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Fajar Alfian on Friday.
The top-seeded Indian duo, ranked third in men's doubles, fell 21-19, 21-15 to the 13th-ranked Indonesian pair in a 50-minute clash, as per Olympics.com.
With Satwik-Chirag out, Lakshya Sen remains the sole Indian contender in the BWF Super 500 event, having defeated fellow Indian Ayush Shetty in Sydney's Olympic Boulevard to reach the semifinals.
Despite being a relatively new pairing, Alfian--who has twice won bronze at the World Championships with Muhammad Rian Ardianto--and Fikri have quickly risen in prominence since joining forces at the Japan Open in July. The duo has already won the China Open Super 1000 and finished runners-up at the Denmark, Korea and French Opens in a short span.
In the match, Satwik-Chirag started strongly, racing to a 7-2 lead in the first game. However, the Indonesians fought back, levelling at 16-all. The Indians appeared set to take the game at 19-17, but Alfian and Fikri clinched four consecutive points to secure the opener.
In the second game, Satwik-Chirag led by one point at the interval, but the Indonesians dominated after the break to comfortably win the game and the match.
This defeat was the second consecutive 2025 BWF World Tour event where Satwik-Chirag were eliminated by an Indonesian duo; they had previously lost in the French Open first round to Ardianto and Rahmat Hidayat in October.
In men's singles, Paris 2024 semi-finalist Lakshya Sen, seeded seventh and ranked 14th, overcame world No. 32 Ayush Shetty 23-21, 21-11 in a 52-minute quarterfinal. The opening game was closely contested, with both shuttlers saving a game point each, but Lakshya edged ahead. The second game was far more one-sided, as Lakshya extended his head-to-head record against Shetty to 2-0. Ayush Shetty, who won the US Open, is the only Indian to have claimed a BWF Tour title this year. (ANI)