Top-seeded Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty pulled out of the Swiss Open here on Friday ahead of its quarterfinal clash after a shoulder issue troubled the former.
Rankireddy and Shetty were scheduled to clash with Denmark’s Christian Faust Kjaer and Rasmus Kjaer in the last-eight pairs stage of the Super 300 badminton tournament. The 25-year-old from Amalapuram, known for one of the fastest smashes in world badminton, has often struggled with his right shoulder. In 2023, Rankireddy set a Guinness World Record for the fastest smash in badminton, clocking 565 km/h.
“It is an old injury, hopefully he can recover fast. This will take a week at least,” Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her told PTI.
The injury is understood to be an overuse issue rather than a fresh trauma, a common challenge for elite athletes competing at high intensity. The Indian pair had played a high-intensity 74-minute match on Thursday, prevailing 21-15 15-21 28-26 over Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita in the pre-quarterfinals.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games champions, will next compete at the Badminton Asia Championships scheduled from April 7 to 12. The Indian pair had won the title in 2023. Later in the day, Tharun Mannepalli will face Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting.
