The Badminton World Championships are not going as planned for the Indian contingent as most of the players have been knocked out of the tournament already. While Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out in the second round itself, Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal bowed out after losing in the pre-quarters. Nehwal lost to twelfth-seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan while Sen lost to compatriot HS Prannoy. 

On the other hand, the men’s doubles pairs of MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty have progressed to the quarterfinals after winning their respective matches in the third round. While Arjun and Dhruv defeated the Singaporean pair of Loh Kean Hean and Yong Kai Terry, Satwik and Chirag outclassed the Danish pair of J. Bay and L. Molhede. 

The Commonwealth gold medallist pair of Chirag and Satwik took only 35 minutes to see off their opponents. The pair annihilated their Danish opponents and left them stunned by their superior gameplay. The Indian shuttlers were dominant throughout the match hardly giving any opportunities to the Danish pair. 

Meanwhile, Arjun and Dhruv made a sensational comeback after losing the first set to win the match 18-21, 21-15, and 21-16. They faced a stern challenge from the Singaporean pair throughout the match and had to really grind it to register a win they will cherish for years. Nonetheless, with this remarkable win, the Indian pair has set up a quarterfinal clash against the Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. 

Coming to Saina Nehwal’s match, the star shuttler lost to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan  17-21, 21-16, 13-21. Nehwal was not off to a good start as she lost her first game, which was a closely contested one. But she bounced back to win the second to make things even. But the Thai shuttler had the last laugh as she clinched the decider to progress to the quarterfinals. With Nehwal bowling out, India’s challenge in the women’s singles category also ended. 

Here’s how Indian shuttlers performed on Day 4: 

  • MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila defeated Loh Kean Hean/Yong Kai Terry of Singapore 18-21, 21-15, 21-16 in Men’s Doubles.
  • Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty defeated  Jeppe Bay/L. Molhede of Denmark 21-12, 21-10 in Men’s Doubles
  • Saina Nehwal lost to Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 17-21, 21-16, 13-21 in Women’s Singles
  • HS Prannoy defeated Lakshya Sen of India 17-21, 21-16, 21-17 in Men’s Singles

Indians in action of Day 5:

  • MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila vs Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in Men’s Doubles
  • Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in Men’s Doubles
  • HS Prannoy vs Jeupeng Zhao in Men’s Singles