Indian shuttlers Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy emerged victorious against the England pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in their final Group A match but still missed out on qualifying for the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
Ranked 10th in the world, the Indians beat world number 18 team 21-17, 21-19 in a 44-minute Group A men’s doubles match at the Musashino Forest Plaza.
However, they couldn’t make it to the knockout stage as they finished third in the Group A behind top-ranked Indonesian team of Marcus Gideon Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and world number three Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang of Chinese Taipei.
“We knew the moment Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin won, we don’t stand a chance. They won in two games and we won in three. It is quite sad. Unfortunately, even after winning two matches in the group, we don’t go through. But that is badminton and have to live with it,” said Chirag.
All three teams finished on same points with two wins each and when the number of games won was considered to identify the qualifiers, the Indians lost.
Chirag and Satwik’s straight game loss to the Indonesians on Monday cost them dear.
Moments before the Indian pair stepped on the court, Lee and Wang had completed a three-game win over Sukamuljo and Gideon in the preceding group match, rendering the result of India's contest against Britain inconsequential.