New Delhi: India on Wednesday suffered setbacks in men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles at the All England Open 2026 in Birmingham.
India’s Ayush Shetty bowed out of the men’s singles event after losing to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in Birmingham. Farhan, the 2023 World Junior Champion, defeated the Indian 19-21, 21-9, 21-17 in a 75-minute match.
Shetty, who had claimed bronze at the 2023 World Junior Championships, fought hard in an intense contest. He took the opening game 21-19 but failed to maintain momentum. Farhan dominated the second game 21-9 and sealed the decider 21-17 to close the match.
Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a Round of 32 defeat against Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Khai Xing Kang, according to olympics.com.
The World No. 4 Indian pair lost 23-21, 21-12 in 42 minutes and exited the competition. The Malaysians controlled most of the opening game. Rankireddy and Shetty saved two game points to level at 20-20. However, Tai and Kang claimed the crucial points to take the opener 23-21.
The second game turned one-sided. The Indian duo trailed by seven points at one stage and failed to recover as the Malaysian pair wrapped up the match 21-12.
Similarly, in mixed doubles, India’s Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde went down to France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.
The French pair secured a straight-game victory 21-12, 21-15 in 42 minutes to knock the Indians out of the tournament.
