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The Indian men badminton’s star duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty pulled out of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament on Tuesday, November 26. The former World No. 1 pair and tournament favourites returned to action at China Masters last week for the first time after an unfortunate campaign at Paris Olympics 2024. They had practiced on Monday and were set for their first round.
Sat-Chi, as they are popularly called, were set to lock horns with the Chinese pair of Chen Xu Jun and Guo Ruo Han in the opening round. However, the pair decided to pull out of the event even though the qualifying rounds in singles and mixed doubles kicked off. While there is no comment from the shuttlers yet, it has been learnt that Satwik doesn’t feel completely recovered from his shoulder injury yet. Earlier in the China Masters Supe 750 event, the Indians had made it to the semifinals.
Keeping body and upcoming season in mind, the pair decided to withdraw: B Sumeeth Reddy
While there is no official confirmation yet, B Sumeeth Reddy, who has been training the duo, revealed that Satwik has been finding difficulties in recovery. He told PTI, “Satwik has just returned from injury. They are playing after a long time. They had a very hectic week in Shenzhen where they reached the semifinals. It is sometimes difficult to recover completely, so in the best interest, keeping their body in mind and the upcoming season, they decided to withdraw.”
Speaking of other competitors, stalwart and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is currently at World No.19 would aim to make a comeback with the title at the ongoing competition. She will lock horns with compatriot Anmol Kharb, a 17-year-old, who has won the Belgium and Poland International Challenges titles so far this year. On the other hand, Lakshya Sen is set to clash against Malaysian qualifier Sholeh Aidil.
