IMAGE: India’s Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were beaten by the Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the Round of 16 doubles match. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Reuters
The Indian challenge at the French Open badminton tournament ended with PV Sindhu and Asian Games men’s doubles gold medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowing out in the second round in Rennes, France, on Thursday.
Taking the court first, double Olympic medallist Sindhu was leading by a game before she conceded her second round women’s singles match against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong due to a knee injury.
Sindhu pocketed the first game 21-18 and the second game was level 1-1 when the Indian felt discomfort on her left knee at the Glaz Arena.
While returning a shot from Katethong, Sindhu stretched herself far too much, resulting in the injury to her knee.
She applied the magic spray and sought the tournament doctor’s help. She then consulted her coach, Hafiz Hashim, twice, and received a yellow card before deciding to concede the match.
Katethong advanced to the quarter-finals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event.
Sindhu had defeated seventh seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 12-21, 21-18, 21-15 in the opening round.
Earlier this week, the ace Indian shuttler returned to the top 10 of BWF world rankings after nearly six months on the back of four semi-final finishes.
Later in the day, third seeds Satwik and Chirag were stunned by the Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 23-25, 21-19, 19-21 in keenly-contest round of 16 match.
