New Delhi:
It has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for India’s most accomplished badminton pair. To beat a Chinese pair on home soil, who had the full support of the vocal crowd, requires nerves of steel, and both showed that. In fact, over five matches, they were at the top of their game, bringing great energy on court, defending with resolve and attacking with the kind of aggression that had made them one of the most feared pairs in the world. So what changed so dramatically for Satwik and Chirag in such a short period? They say it was the physical aspect and the instinct that takes over with more game time on court. In the last week of May, they had ended a two-year wait for a BWF World Tour title by winning the Singapore Open. But Satwik’s shoulder injury recurred, and they had to retire midway through their first-round match in Indonesia and Japan. The focus then shifted to rehabilitation to get ready for the Worlds. “Even at the China Masters, we were not sure how much we would physically cope throughout the week, so we were taking one match at a time. But overall, we were pretty much comfortable. They were smart enough to use all their experience to play around that deficiency. “Even without a weapon, we were playing at a high level. They trusted their defence more in China, keeping the rallies going and backing themselves to create openings for scoring points. That is perhaps a game Satwik and Chirag are looking to build on as they try to keep themselves injury-free at this stage of their careers.
“Even though I was not able to smash at 100 per cent, we were troubling top players, and that gave us a lot of confidence. At the Worlds, they were returning to action after two months out due to Satwik’s shoulder injury.
“Going into the Asian Games, winning a title definitely reassures us that what we are working on is heading in the right direction,” said Satwik after their China Masters title, where they beat China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in a gruelling 70-minute battle. “It was much more difficult for us at the World Championships because we didn’t spend much time on court,” said Satwik. That’s a good sign,” said Satwik. That said, Satwik is still not at his full flow and is restricting himself when it comes to the big smashes he used to pin down opponents. That’s a major takeaway for me,” said Satwik.
