India suffered a series of early setbacks at the All England Open 2026 in Birmingham on Wednesday, with several players crashing out in the opening round of the prestigious badminton tournament.
The biggest disappointment came in men’s doubles, where the World No. 4 pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was knocked out in the Round of 32 by Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Khai Xing Kang. The Indian duo lost the match 23-21, 21-12 in 42 minutes.
Rankireddy and Shetty struggled to gain control of the opening game and spent most of it trailing their Malaysian opponents. Despite being on the back foot, the Indians showed resilience by saving two game points and leveling the score at 20-20. However, Tai and Kang held their nerve at the crucial moments, claiming the final two points to take the first game 23-21.
The second game turned out to be far more straightforward for the Malaysian pair. Rankireddy and Shetty fell behind early and were unable to recover as the gap widened. At one stage, the Indians trailed by seven points, and the Malaysians maintained their momentum to close out the match 21-12, securing a comfortable victory and eliminating one of the tournament’s top-seeded pairs.
India also faced disappointment in mixed doubles. The pairing of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde lost to France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue in straight games. The French duo dominated the contest and sealed a 21-12, 21-15 win in another 42-minute encounter.
Kapoor and Gadde struggled to find rhythm throughout the match, with Gicquel and Delrue controlling the rallies and maintaining pressure from the start. Despite some resistance in the second game, the Indian pair could not mount a comeback.
In men’s singles, 20-year-old Ayush Shetty also bowed out of the tournament after a hard-fought match against Indonesia’s World No. 14 Alwi Farhan. Shetty made a strong start, taking the opening game 21-19 and briefly putting his opponent under pressure.
However, Farhan responded strongly in the next two games. The Indonesian dominated the second game 21-9 and carried that momentum into the decider, eventually winning 21-17 to secure the match.
With multiple early exits, India’s campaign at the All England Open has begun on a difficult note as several players failed to progress beyond the opening round.
