India's disappointing campaign at the Denmark Open 2026 continued on Wednesday as the country's leading men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, suffered a first-round defeat against China's He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu, adding to a series of early exits by prominent Indian shuttlers at the BWF Super 750 tournament.
The fifth-ranked Indian combination went down 21-12, 15-21, 19-21 to the world No. 37 Chinese pair in a closely contested three-game encounter. The defeat marked their first loss to He and Ren in four meetings, bringing an abrupt end to their campaign despite a commanding start.
Satwik and Chirag dominated the opening game, displaying their attacking prowess and superior court coverage to secure a comfortable 21-12 victory. However, the Chinese pair responded strongly in the second game, establishing an 11-4 advantage at the interval before maintaining control to level the contest.
The deciding game witnessed a closely fought battle, with both combinations exchanging points and struggling to establish a decisive lead. He and Ren held a narrow 11-10 advantage at the interval and managed to preserve their composure in the closing stages to clinch the game 21-19.
๐๐๐๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐
India's troubles extended to the men's singles competition, where rising shuttler Ayush Shetty suffered a three-game defeat against Indonesia's Alwi Farhan. The Indonesian prevailed 21-11, 13-21, 21-10, ending Shetty's campaign in the opening round.
Farhan dominated the first game, using his attacking variations and court control to establish an early advantage. Shetty responded in the second game, taking an 11-8 lead at the interval before conceding just five more points to force a decider. However, the Indonesian regained control in the final game and comfortably sealed the contest.
The result marked another setback for Shetty against Farhan, who has enjoyed considerable success against the Indian in their recent encounters. With Shetty's elimination, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth remained India's only representative in the men's singles draw.
๐จ๐ป๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐
Young Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda also exited the women's singles competition after losing a hard-fought three-game encounter against China's Han Qian Xi.
Hooda went down 21-23, 21-16, 16-21 in a match lasting one hour and five minutes. The opening game witnessed an intense battle, with both players exchanging leads before Han edged ahead to take it 23-21.
The Indian recovered strongly in the second game, producing an improved attacking display to level the contest. However, Han regained control in the deciding game and maintained her advantage to secure victory.
๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ต๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
India's campaign had already suffered major setbacks on Tuesday when two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen crashed out in their respective opening-round matches.
Sindhu lost 21-13, 23-25, 19-21 to Germany's Yvonne Li despite winning the opening game and holding a 19-15 advantage in the decider. The German produced a remarkable comeback, winning six consecutive points to register her first victory over Sindhu in four meetings.
Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, suffered a 18-21, 21-13, 15-21 defeat against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen. The result marked Sen's fifth first-round exit in his last six BWF World Tour tournaments, highlighting his continuing struggles for consistency.
๐ฆ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ต, ๐ง๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ
Amid the disappointing results, Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma provided some encouragement by advancing to the second round of the prestigious tournament.
Srikanth, the 2017 Denmark Open champion, defeated France's Arnaud Merkle 22-20, 21-19 in straight games to progress in the men's singles competition. The experienced Indian will next face France's Alex Lanier.
Tanvi Sharma secured a hard-fought 21-17, 16-21, 21-19 victory over Japan's Natsuki Nidaira to enter the women's singles second round, where she will face Germany's Yvonne Li, who eliminated Sindhu.
With several established Indian players already eliminated, attention will now turn to Srikanth, Tanvi and the remaining Indian contenders as they seek to salvage the country's campaign at the Denmark Open.