India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a surprise quarter-final exit at the Australia Open 2025 after losing to Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Fajar Alfian in straight games on Friday.
According to Olympics.com, the duo’s exit leaves Lakshya Sen as the lone Indian still alive in the BWF Super 500 badminton event after surviving a challenge from compatriot Ayush Shetty at the Quaycentre in Sydney’s Olympic Boulevard to make the semi-finals.
Satwik-Chirag, third in the men’s doubles badminton rankings and the top seeds, lost 21-19, 21-15 to the 13th-ranked Indonesian duo in 50 minutes.
Satwik and Chirag opened strongly and led 7-2 in the first game before the Indonesians, currently ranked 13th, recovered to level at 16-all. Despite the Indians holding a 19-17 advantage, Fikri and Alfian won four points in succession to claim the opener.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with the Indians holding a narrow lead at the interval. However, the fifth-seeded Indonesians tightened their grip after the restart and pulled away comfortably to secure victory in the first meeting between the two pairs.
Fikri and Alfian, who teamed up only in July at the Japan Open, have emerged as one of the tour’s most successful new pairings, winning the China Open Super 1000 and finishing runners-up at the Denmark, Korea, and French Opens
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With Satwik and Chirag’s exit, Lakshya Sen remains the lone Indian in contention at the tournament.In men’s singles, seventh seed Lakshya booked his place in the semi-finals with a 23-21, 21-11 victory over compatriot Ayush Shetty in a 52-minute encounter.
The opening game saw both players exchange periods of control and save a game point each before Lakshya edged through. The Paris 2024 semi-finalist dominated the second game to extend his head-to-head record against Shetty to 2-0.Ayush Shetty, the world No. 32 and the only Indian shuttler to win a BWF Tour title this year following his US Open triumph, exited in the quarter-finals.<>
