The duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are living a dream. Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open last week, Satwik and Chirag became the first-ever Indian doubles pair in badminton to attain the World No.2 rank.
Before the loss in Japan, the two were on a 12-match winning streak which saw them win four tournaments across the globe. No Indian doubles pair has ever achieved this stupendous feat.
Traditionally, India have been strong in singles with the likes of Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand (both All England champions) PV Sindhu (World champion, Olympic silver and bronze) and Saina Nehwal, who was World No.2.
Best medal hopes
With the Paris Olympics exactly a year away, its Satwik and Chirag who are India’s best medal hopes – something unthinkable even six months back. The duo has a bronze medal at the World Championships, Thomas Cup (World team championships) gold and Asian Championship gold; such has been its dominance over the last 10 months.
“Previously we struggled to find a world-class doubles pair to complement our singles. Now, Satwik and Chirag have changed that notion with their superlative showing,” was how Prakash Padukone summed up their performance.
Consistency has been the hallmark of Satwik and Chirag, who have been together since the age of 10. Interestingly, both are 22, and have been playing with different partners before Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her brought them together in 2017. At first, the duo didn’t impress much but went from strength to strength after putting in hours of hard work and toil.
A deadly duo
What makes Chirag and Satwik such a deadly duo? Gopichand feels that it’s the hard-hitting of Satwik combined with the brilliant net-play of Chirag that makes them virtually impossible to beat. “While Satwik rains smashes from anywhere on the court, Chirag adds terrific net-play; and their opponents have nowhere to hide,” he said.
Gopichand also felt that the communication between them is excellent. “They are simply too good when it comes to on-court communication – a mere nod of the head or shake of their hands – indicates what type of shot they expect from their opponents.” Another highlight of their game is their swiftness in finding the opponents’ weakness.
Mental toughness
The induction of renowned Danish doubles coach, Mathias Boe, into the Indian team has immensely helped Satwik and Chirag in their mental toughness. Previously, the two had almost made it a habit of losing close matches. Often they would lose from winning positions. All that changed with Boe.
It was Boe, who worked on their mental aspect by engaging them in a lot of discussion. Both Satwik and Chirag were reticent; they didn’t talk much with their previous coaches. But with Mathias around, the trio could often be seen in long discussions. The Danish coach was able to provide the cutting-edge, something which made the duo virtually invincible.
Time and again, Satwik and Chirag have said that an Olympic medal is something they desperately cherish. Their superlative form bodes well for their dream.
