Chirag satwik

Kumamoto Masters Japan: Asian Games champions Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a first-round exit in the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023 men’s doubles badminton event on Tuesday.

The world no. 5 Indian duo lost to Chinese Taipei’s world No. 21 pair of Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han 21-16, 18-21, 16-21 in 63 minutes in the round of 32 of the Super 500 badminton tournament.

The Indian duo got off to a slow start and were trailing 0-3 after early exchanges. They made it 3-3 and led by four points at the interval. Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han cut the deficit to one point 17-16 but the Indians pocketed the first game with four successive points.