Indian men’s doubles pair of Stok-Chirag (Photo: ANI)
India’s top men’s doubles pair Satok Sairaj Rankireddy And Chirag Shetty His impressive campaign at the Thailand Open 2026 ended as runner-up after losing to Indonesia’s Leo Ruli Karnando and Daniel Marthan in the final at Bangkok’s Namibutar Stadium on Sunday.The Indian duo lost 21-12, 25-23 21-12, 25-23 in a fast-paced 53-minute summit clash, narrowly missing out on their first title of the 2026 season.Satuk and Chirag struggled to settle into a rhythm in the opening game as the Indonesian duo dominated proceedings from the start. Leo and Daniel controlled the rallies with aggressive attacking play and raced to win the first game comfortably 21-12.However, the Indian duo responded strongly in the second game and made a spirited comeback. Satuk and Chirag stepped up their intensity, fighting point for point and pushing the contest to a tense one. Showing great resilience, the Indians saved five championship points in a row to keep themselves alive in the contest and eventually fell behind 25-23 in a dramatic finish.Despite the defeat, the tournament marked a significant step forward for Stouk and Chirag, who were appearing in their first finals of the 2026 season. It was also his first final since the China Masters in 2025. Earlier in the tournament, the top-seeded Indian duo produced their best performance of the season against Malaysia’s Goh Se Fei and Noor Izzuddin in the semi-finals.The thrilling semi-final lasted one hour and 22 minutes, with Satuk and Chirag coming from behind to win 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 to extend their record against Malaysia to 8-2. The semi-final victory showed the fighting spirit of the Indian pair, especially as they recovered from a difficult first game and saved crucial points under pressure in the second.After PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen were knocked out of the tournament early, Satwick and Chirag carried India’s last hopes in Bangkok. The pair also secured a convincing victory in the round of 16 against Malaysia’s Gunting Brian Jeremy and Hakeel Muhammad, winning 21-12, 21-19 to continue their strong run.Meanwhile, India’s singles campaign ended in the quarterfinals. Lakshya Sen suffered a defeat against Thailand’s Kunlawat Witedsaran, while PV Sindhu lost a close contest against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
