New Delhi: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s recurring shoulder problem forced him and Chirag Shetty to retire from their Japan Open opener even as P V Sindhu eased into the women’s singles second round with a straight-game win over Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching here on Tuesday.
India’s top men’s doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, had to retire from their Japan Open 2026 opener on Tuesday. The World No.4 pair lost their first game 21-19 against Denmark’s World No. 16 pair Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard, before pulling out midway.
Satwik Chirag had to withdraw from Indonesia Open last month as Satwik sustained shoulder injury. The duo had a brilliant start to the year as they finally ended a two-year drought by winning the Singapore Open.
The reigning Asian Games men’s doubles champions tried their best but Satwik seemed troubled by the same injury after already missing four tournaments.
Will they play in China Open?#JapanOpen2026
🩹 Looks like the right shoulder is still bothering Satwik. After dropping a super close opening game 19-21, he indicates to the umpire he can’t continue and Satwik-Chirag retire from their R32 match.
Big tournaments coming up, so hopefully he feels fine soon. pic.twitter.com/Tl4fgjp7Zp
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) July 14, 2026
The chief doubles coach Tan Kim Her revealed that the pair will miss the China Open, which is scheduled for next week as the duo will focus on rehabilitation to get back in shape for the home World Cup Championships in August.
Tan told PTI, “It still needs some time to recover. We have at least four weeks to get back in shape ahead of World Championships.”
Other players that advance to second roundWorld No. 10 PV Sindhu edges past Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in straight sets to advance to the next round. Other than her, India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto too advanced to the second round after defeating Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 21-16, 21-14 in their mixed doubles opener.
However, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde bowed out in the opening round after losing 11-21, 10-21 to World No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China.
India’s Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda will begin their campaign tomorrow.
