Tokyo Olympics badminton: India’s Satwik-Chirag go down to Gideon-Sukamuljo in group doubles
The Indian men’s doubles pair suffered a straight games loss to the top-ranked Indonesian duo in their second group stage match.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a 21-13, 21-12 loss to Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo of Indonesia in their second group stage of the men’s doubles badminton competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.
After the phenomenal win over the world No. 3 Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of the Chinese Taipei, the Indian duo was up against the top-ranked men’s doubles pair in the world at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.
The Indians pushed the Indonesians in the initial exchanges with their quick returns and powerful drives. But the ‘Minions’ -- as they are often called -- soon upped their game.
While Marcus Gideon dominated with some smart returns that stretched the Indians, Kevin Sukamuljo relied on his brute power to pocket the points.
From 7-7, the Indonesians raced to an 11-7 lead at the break before opening up an 18-11 advantage.
The match was briefly halted after Chirag Shetty needed medical attention following a collision with his partner. But upon resumption, the Indonesians took just 17 minutes to wrap up the game.
The Indians, ranked 10th in the world, were quick to get off the blocks in the second game. Saiwiksairaj Rankireddy fought back with his drives from the backcourt as the Indians matched the Indonesians in the initial exchanges of the second game.
But Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo kept their composure to eke out an 11-8 lead at the break before racing ahead to wrap up the match in a little over 30 minutes. It was the ninth time the two Indians fell to the Indonesian pair in as many matches.
The win means Indonesia have sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. India will need to beat Great Britain's Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in their final group game on Tuesday to make it to the last eight.