New Delhi: There was a time in global badminton when watching high-adrenaline, nerve-jangling men’s doubles contests made you wonder if an Indian pair could ever combine such pace, energy and skill in their game. Then came Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and they shook the world order with their explosive style.
Even though we lost the first game (in the final), we came back to win the second and third. Beating defending world champions Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of Korea in the semi-final and the formidable Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri of Malaysia in the final would have given them self-belief. Some of the biggest moments in Indian badminton in recent years have come through this sensational combination. A historic Thomas Cup triumph, Asian Games and Asian Championships gold medals in men’s doubles along with two World Championships bronze medals, Satwik and Chirag have been relentless in their pursuit to staying among the best. The Indians, coached by Malaysian Tan Kim Her, rightly decided to focus all energies on rehabilitation and getting ready for the Worlds. “We are very excited. It’s a different feeling to be playing the World Championships at home in front of your fans. We took a long break, but we are not focusing too much ahead. “I had time with the rehab. But tournaments and practice are much different. So, we have to see how it goes in the tournament. In the tournament, you need to see how it goes. The Singapore Open title was a high point and they felt they could have carried the momentum forward but for the injury. “Winning a major title after a gap we got the confidence back. We played some disciplined game and stuck to the game plan throughout, be it against the Koreans or the Indonesians. The Korean pair is top seeded, and the Malaysians are the second seeds. This year, the Indians also helped the team secure a bronze in the Thomas Cup.
When they returned a month later at the Japan Open (June 2-7), the shoulder trouble resurfaced and, frustrated, they had to pull out again after losing the first game 19-21, to the Danish pair of Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard. So, I felt like even though we weren’t 100% there yet, still we won the tournament beating all the world’s top pairs. Because in practice, you don’t have so much pressure.
We just want to take one match at a time,” Satwik told HT.
