India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out from the first round at the Japan Masters 2023. The World No.5 pair lost against Chinese Taipei’s Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han 21-16, 18-21, 16-21 in 63 minutes on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
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Against the World No.21 pair, the Indians started off by trailing 0-3 initially. However they managed to make a comeback and entered the interval with 11-7 lead. They went on to wrap up the first game comfortably 21-16.
In the second game, both the players were on a neck-to-neck battle. The Chinese pair inched ahead to enter the interval with a two-point lead. Chirag and Satwik tried hard to make a comeback. However the Taiwanese duo took the contest into the decider.
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In the third game, the Taiwanese duo managed to stay ahead. They entered the interval with a slender 11-10 lead and went on to win the match 21-16.
Following the Asian Games triumph, Satwik and Chirag withdrew from the Denmark Open. They then lost in the second round at the French Open.