Heart for India! Satwik-Chirag finished second at the 2026 Thailand Open

Indian men’s doubles pair Satwik-Chirag (Image: ANI)

India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ended their impressive campaign at the 2026 Thailand Open as runners-up after losing to Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in the final at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok on Sunday.The Indian duo lost 21-12, 25-23 in a fast-paced 53-minute summit clash, narrowly missing out on a first title of the 2026 season.Satwik and Chirag struggled to get into a rhythm in the opening game as the Indonesian pair dominated from the start. Leo and Daniel controlled the rally with aggressive attacking play and runs to win the first game comfortably 21-12.However, the Indian pair responded emphatically in the second game and produced a spirited comeback. Satwik and Chirag turned up the intensity, fighting point for point and taking the match to a thrilling finish. The Indians showed tremendous resilience and saved five straight championship points to keep the contest alive before falling 25-23 in a dramatic finish.Despite the defeat, the tournament marked a significant step forward for Satwik and Chirag, who appeared in their first final of the 2026 season. It was also their first finals appearance since the 2025 China Masters. Earlier in the tournament, the top-seeded Indian duo produced one of their best performances of the season in the semi-finals against Malaysians Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin.In a thrilling semi-final that lasted one hour and 22 minutes, Satwik and Chirag came from behind to win 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 to extend their head-to-head match against the Malaysians to 8-2. The semi-final victory showed the fighting spirit of the Indian pair, especially after they recovered from a difficult first game to save key points in the second under pressure.With PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen already out of the tournament, Satwik and Chirag carried India’s last hopes in Bangkok. The pair also produced a convincing Round of 16 victory over Malaysians Goonting Bryan Jeremy and Haikal Muhammad as they won 21-12, 21-19 to continue their strong run.Meanwhile, India’s singles campaign ended in the quarterfinals. Lakshya Sen suffered defeat to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn while PV Sindhu lost a close match to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.