Indian challenge at Indonesia Open ends with loss of PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in semis

India's campaign at the Indonesian Open came to an end after defeats by PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Saturday. The penultimate day of the BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament in Bali turned out to be a disappointing one for the Indian fans.

PV Sindhu and men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj and Chirag gave their best but it was not enough against their formidable opponents.

Two-time Indian Olympic medalist Sindhu lost 21-15, 9-21, 14-21 to Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand. Third seed Sindhu got off to a great start but could not hang on to her one-game advantage against the World No. 8. The women’s singles semifinal clash lasted 54 minutes between the two 26-year-old shuttlers.

It was Sindhu’s third consecutive defeat against former world champion Intanon. The Thai shuttler increased the head-to-head record to 7-4 with Saturday’s win.

Second seed Intanon will now take on fourth seed An Seyoung of Korea in the final on Sunday.

Third straight semi-final loss to Sindhu in BWF event this season

The wait for the title continues for reigning world champion Sindhu. Defeat against Intanon was the third successive semifinal loss for the world No. 7 Sindhu at a BWF event. She also had to face defeat at the French Open and the Indonesia Masters.

Sindhu began brilliantly racing to a 8-3 lead in quick time. Intanon then made a comeback and reduced the deficit. Sindhu managed to hold on to her and claim the first game 21-15.

Intanon bounced back strongly in the second game as she led from start to finish to wrap up the second game quite comfortably at 21-9.

In the third and deciding game, Sindhu and Intanon were almost equal initially. However, Intanon changed gears after the break with a mandatory change of sides. The Thai player led 11-5 and increased the lead with some outstanding displays of attacking shots and accurate net play to win the decider 21-14.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag fail to break jinx against top seeds

Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia are the only top pair whom Satwiksairaj and Chirag have not beaten so far.

World No. 1 duo from Indonesia have a perfect 9-0 head-to-head record against the Indian pair. With Saturday’s win they increased it to 10-0. Indonesians have been proving to be nemesis for the Indian pair for the last couple of years.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag lost to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 16-21, 18-21 in 44 minutes in the men's doubles semis. Sixth seeds Satwik and Chirag put up a strong fight but just couldn’t crack the Indonesian code yet again.