Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty opt out of Indonesia Open

Defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have pulled out of the Indonesia Open. This comes after the duo faced an unexpected first-round loss at the recently concluded Singapore Open.

For Rankireddy and Shetty, 2024 has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. The Indians began the year on a high, making it to three consecutive finals in their first three tournaments of the year, winning the last of them.

The duo then dealt with an early exit from the All England Championships, before retiring from the Badminton Asia Championships, an event where they were the defending champions.

Opting out of the next couple of BWF World Tour events due to a shoulder injury for Rankireddy, the World No.1s got back to court in late May to win the Thailand Open, only to suffer a first-round exit in their very next outings at the Singapore Open.

Now, the duo have withdrawn from the Indonesia Open Super 1000, sparking concern among fans.

Indonesia Open 2024: HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu to lead charge in Satwik-Chirag's absence

With Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty out of the competition, India's hopes for a title finish at the Indonesia Open will be heavily reliant on HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu.

Prannoy has had a tough time in his last few events, facing early exits, and he will be hoping to turn that around starting today. Meanwhile, PV Sindhu has seen a resurgence in her form after a month-long hiatus, reaching her first finals of the year at the Malaysia Masters.

Joining Prannoy and Sindhu at the competition in the singles events will be Lakshya Sen, Kiran George, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Aakarshi Kashyap.

Meanwhile, the Indian doubles challenge in Indonesia will be spearheaded by Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto, as well as Treesa Jolly/Gayathri Gopichand. They will be joined by the Panda sisters and the mixed doubles pair of Sumeeth and Sikki Reddy.